Winning Number
by LilyBartAndTheOthers
Summary: Santorini, the star of the Cyclades. If Jane tends to say that she's rather unlucky, life's just proved her the exact opposite: she's off to Greece for two weeks with Maura. But will their vacations turn out to be as peaceful as what they imagine? Not rea
1. You, Lucky B

**Author's note: first chapter to a light and funny story, daily updates and reviews more than appreciated.**

**...**

_**"If you don't go to Santorini, Santorini comes to you." Angela Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter One – You, Lucky B...**

The moment she stepped into the BPD building that morning, Jane knew that something was going on and that this something was related to her. No, she hadn't developed any paranoiac tendency within the previous night but every single person she ran into ended up shaking his head at her before cursing through clenched teeth that exact same sentence: "You, lucky bitch".

At first her reason pushed her to assume that she had misheard whatever her colleagues seemed to say but Frankie swept away such vaguely reassuring conclusions within a second. Coffee in hand, he stormed out of the Division One Cafe and walked straight in her direction.

"You're a lucky so-and-so."

Jane didn't have time to react. Her brother had already closed the distance that separated them from the elevators the moment her brain connected with her lips to formulate a reply. Frankie disappeared from her sight, adding more to the mystery Jane now felt the urge to immediately solve if she didn't want to turn crazy.

Trying to not pay attention to her slight discomfort, she turned around and observed her surroundings.

If it weren't for the whispers in her back, nothing had changed. It was a very random day at the BPD: people were coming and going, civilians and police units. Her eyes stopped on the sidedoor of the Division One Cafe. She barely hesitated for two seconds.

Determined to put an end to what she now saw as a very bad joke, Jane walked towards the cafeteria where the only person susceptible to help her was now working: her mother. If there was someone in this building who always knew what was going on, it had to be her. Her bad habit to stick her nose in people's business might for once help Jane.

"If you don't go to Santorini, Santorini comes to you."

Jane froze. At least she had now found someone who didn't whisper. Her mother's voice rose so loudly in the cafe that all the customers turned around to stare at her. Angela took a sheet of paper out of the pocket of her pants then ran to her daughter. She waved the note.

"Here's a list of things I want you to bring me back. Of course if you take Maura with you then you can add a little extra but only if Maura comes with you. We both know, you and I, how you lack of imagination when you try to buy me a little somethin'. Maura's better at this. She's coming with you, right? That's what everyone's been sayin' this morning."

If her discomfort had subdued, it was only to let her confusion grow in a very concerning way instead. Jane grabbed the paper and checked the list. It looked like a shopping list: wine, olive oil, soap. Couldn't her mother run a few errands by herself?

"Are you trying to resupply Boston or something? Ma'... This list's longer than the amount of times Frankie got dumped by women." She didn't see it come but felt it nonetheless. A furtive snap on top of her head made her wince in pain but since she deserved it then she didn't complain. "Besides, I'm working... I don't have time for this."

"Today's your last day at work, Janie. Of course, you'll have time for it!"

Her mother's comment got the effect of a very cold shower. Her confusion melted into something a lot more serious and dreadful, something that made her heart beat faster and her hands turn moist. Clutched to the shopping list as if her life now depended on it, Jane swallowed hard and tried to convince herself that she had misheard her mother's reply.

Everything sped up in her brain and as flashbacks of the previous days showed up, an endless series of questions began to resound loudly in her head. Had she done something wrong?

She hadn't broken anything. She hadn't stolen a case from another unit. She hadn't caused her floor to run out of coffee which was enough of a reason to get fired too. No. She hadn't done anything susceptible to cause her trouble.

Besides, her mother was in a good mood and as much as she had never liked the idea of Jane being a detective, it was still better than being unemployed.

"Ah! Rizzoli. Here you are... Already saying goodbye to Boston, I see...?" Lieutenant Cavanaugh's voice took Jane out of her daydreams. "O'Connor is now on the Petersen case. Since there's a lot to catch back on and very little time to do so, you will spend the day putting him in the know. Okay? Detective Frost will assist you."

"The Petersen case? But that's my case!" Aware of her mother's presence by her side, Jane hesitated for a couple of seconds. She didn't want to share a professional talk with half of the Division One Cafe. "Am I... Am I being laid off?"

The question that had been burning her lips for the past minute finally hit the air with all the uncertainty Jane's voice could betray. Everything had started so well, though. She had woken up to a lovely sunny day, in a rather good mood. Then she had passed the doors of the BPD and everything had fallen apart.

Maybe she was still dreaming. Yes. It had to be a dream, a bad dream.

"If you decide to never come back then... Yes... But to be honest, I wouldn't blame you if you did. Who wants to stay in Boston when you can have the chance to live in such paradise?" Cavanaugh offered her a timid smile. "I checked all the pics this morning."

Cavanaugh and Angela exchanged a knowing look, one that didn't echo anything in Jane but the depth of her confusion. What was he talking about? Going where? She had not taken any day off and, as far as she knew, not a single business trip was scheduled for the next few weeks either.

"What on Earth is going on? Where am I supposed to go and why?" Jane's moan of frustration took her mother and her boss aback. "Is there someone in here who can tell me what's going on, exactly?"

Her reaction was extreme but at least it paid off and Jane got the attention that she needed. Or so. Her mother stared at her as if she had lost her mind and was now the dumbest person on the planet. Cavanaugh not having moved an inch, it was slightly humiliating.

"You're going to Santorini, Greece. For two weeks."

Jane straigthened up. Her mother's answer was still an answer but not a satisfying one. Why was she supposed to go to Europe? Her absence of reaction and her puzzled face caused Cavanaugh to join in.

"The annual BPD lottery? You won the big prize, Rizzoli. It's a trip to Santorini, for two people. Your flight takes off on Saturday. Enjoy your time with Dr. Isles and send us a postcard."

"Oh!"

The lottery.

Of course she had bought a ticket, everyone did. But since she never won, she had completely forgotten about it and had just moved on. She had no idea that the results were supposed to come out today. As a matter of fact, she didn't even know where she had to check the aforesaid results. Was there a board somewhere?

Then in the middle of her haze, a second point got raised. She hadn't paid attention to it until now but it actually shone brightly in the fog of her mind like a lighthouse in the middle of the night: Maura.

Why did people assume that she would leave with her? She hadn't signed any kind of paper when she had bought her lottery ticket that stipulated that if she won the trip to Santorini then she would go with her friend and nobody else.

People were jumping to conclusions in a way that left Jane uncomfortable and confused.

Maura was her friend but what if she wanted to go to Greece with someone else? She and Maura weren't glued. They did a lot of things together but Jane could easily decide to spend these two weeks in Santorini with... Alright. Apart from her mother - and there was no way it would ever happen - Maura was the only one who fit in the scenario.

"Jane!" Like in a bad vaudeville of some sort, Maura stormed into the Division One Cafe, a scalpel in her hand. "I know that Mrs. Petersen is dead but this isn't a reason to make her wait for so long. The autopsy was scheduled for 9am. You are running late."

Maura was wearing her usual autopsy clothes. Latex gloves covered her hands and a rebel lock of hair escaped from her hygiene cap. She hadn't even bothered putting down her surgical instrument. Jane finally made a step closer to her and lowered her voice.

"What are you doing with a scalpel at the Division One Cafe?"

The question took Maura aback to the point she made a step backwards and stared at the instrument that she was holding in her right hand with a barely contained incredulity. She shrugged, very matter-of-factly.

"Aren't you carrying a gun yourself?"

Jane repressed a snort and the strong desire to reply to her friend that there was a slight difference between a firearm and a surgical instrument. She was late which caused Maura's schedule for the day to suffer from it so she wasn't in a position to state that she was clever than her friend. Her repartee would have to wait.

Santorini, however...

"I'm afraid I've been discharged from the case."

Maura's laugh ceased as soon as she realized that neither Lieutenant Cavanaugh nor Angela reacted to contradict Jane. The slight annoyance she felt over the fact that Jane was running late for the autopsy immediately vanished, swallowed by a whirl of incomprehension.

"What happened?"

There was something satisfying and a bit sadistic in the idea of knowing something that someone else ignored, Jane had to admit it. Now that the roles were reversed and that she knew the reason of her upcoming absence, Maura's confusion appeared to be rather entertaining. She grabbed her friend by the shoulders and pointed the elevators.

"It's a long story. Good thing we have a fourteen-hour flight waiting for us so I can tell you exactly what's going on."

"What?!"


	2. Maura-pedia

**Author's note: thank you very much for all your reviews.**

**...**

_**"Dancing the sirtaki to avoid vampires while looking for the Atlantis wasn't on my bucket list." Jane Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter Two – Maura-pedia**

It wasn't a direct flight but it still meant almost thirteen hours in a confined space where it was impossible for Jane to escape Maura's hellenistic knowledge. She was very loquacious on the topic and had decided to pack a dozen of books about the archipelago. Her enthusiasm was such that she could not but share her discoveries with the rest of the class; the rest of the class being a desperate Jane who wanted nothing but to take a nap.

"Aren't vampires supposed to be found in Transylvania?"

Between an endless description of local dishes and an attempt to put words on the taste of Ouzo, Jane's attention had nonetheless been caught by a reference to Bram Stoker. Since when was Greece famous for its vampires? Since when did Greece have vampires at all?

An imperceptible flame of delight got lit up in Maura's eyes. Thrilled to finally have a reaction from Jane after nine hours of very frustrating monosyllabic answers, she feverishly leafed through one of her travel book guides before clearing her voice to read out loud.

"_Vrykolakas_. The island of Santorini is said to be the home of countless undead. The _Vrykolakas_ are wicked, evil and a bit mischievous. They would sneak into a home and pull on the bedclothes of someone asleep or would eat all the food and wine left out for the next day meal." The unconvinced expression on Jane's face caused Maura to laugh. "You don't believe in them, do you?"

Jane's first reaction was to check the amount of wine her friend had sipped since they had stepped on the aircraft. What kind of question was that? Of course she didn't believe in vampires. She wasn't eight anymore.

Too tired to give a proper answer, Jane simply shook her head and tried to ignore the umpteenth kick in her back from the passenger sat behind her.

"But don't you find it enthralling?"

The folklore of such an old country as Greece had its charms, Jane agreed, but her excitement at the prospect of chasing vampires wasn't as intense as Maura's.

"Enthralling isn't the word I'd use, no. Dancing the sirtaki to avoid vampires while looking for the Atlantis wasn't on my bucket list." A snort put an end to her remark. "Believe it or not."

Some people would find Jane's tone sharp but Maura knew better and it didn't reach her the way it did with strangers. Her cheerful attitude rarely suffered from Jane's sarcastic temper. She had learned to accept it for what it was. It was her friend's signature, as a matter of fact. It suited her and gave a good pace to their conversations.

"Is this your way to tell me that you are going to dance the sirtaki?" Maura's lips curled up in a timid smile that melted into a smirk. They had improved. Eight hours earlier, Jane was still unable to properly pronounce the name of the Greek dance. "Aren't you wild, Jane Rizzoli. Here's another fact you will probably enjoy a lot more: it is often said that there is more wine than water in Santorini. What do you think about this?"

Jane's pout didn't fool anyone but since she was in a mood to go on her friend's nerves no matter what, she tried her hardest to find the perfect answer that would make Maura's cheerful attitude fall apart.

"They don't have beer?"

...

If they thought Bostonian summers were hot, it was nothing compared to the heat that swallowed them as soon as they put a foot on the tarmac of the Santorini airport. Although if Jane had to be honest, the airport in question looked more like an airdrome. It had very little to do with Logan International: one runway and a little building barely bigger than an average Starbucks.

She and Maura had spent the very last hour of their flight looking by the window at the multitude of little islands that composed Greece; pieces of land scattered among the endless ribbon of blue that the Aegan sea was. A breathtaking scenery but it was good to have finally reached the archipelago as the journey had been long. All Jane wanted was to take a shower and have a nap.

The absence of customs officials made it easier and faster. They retrieved their suitcases then stepped into the waiting room where a man in his fifties was holding a sign with their names on it like a dozen of other taxi drivers for most of the passengers of their flight.

If the trip was a last-minute surprise, Jane and Maura had to admit that everything was perfectly arranged for them to not worry about anything. From the taxi to the hotel, everything had been booked in advance and all they had to do now was to let people take care of them.

"_Kalimera*_! Welcome to Greece."

Maura replied to their taxi driver in Greek without the slightest hesitation. It didn't surprise Jane at all. She and Maura had met four years earlier and Jane was now certain that there was not a single language on this planet that her friend did not speak.

Besides, it wasn't the first time that Maura went to Greece. It was a favorite holiday destination for the Isles, they had probably explored most of the islands already.

Their hotel was located in Oia, a famous village situated on the other side of the island. Every day an impressive crowd of tourists invaded its small and narrow streets just to make sure to see the sunset from the cliffs. It was just a twenty-minute ride but the moment their taxi drove off, Jane understood that she wouldn't take advantage of it to doze off.

The Greek driving was not something one would describe as peaceful. The island was small but extremely touristic which meant the traffic was just as bad as in Boston. The bad shape of the tiny roads made it worse, though.

Clutched to her seat, Jane remained still and didn't enjoy much the nonetheless breathtaking scenery that surrounded her. If she focused on the uninhabited islands that she could see in the distance then she managed to forget about the curves of the road and the height of the cliffs; especially when they passed one of the local buses that took people from one side of the island to the other.

She was already calculating her chances to make it back to Boston safely and in one piece when Maura's hand landed on her knee to catch her attention.

"Look! This is where the road is the tiniest. You can see the sea from both sides... Nothing but the sea...! Isn't it a very beautiful scenery?"

It was and the smile that played on Maura's lips – so bright that it lit up her eyes of a delicate touch of joy – warmed up Jane's heart. Her fear began to subdue and she finally enjoyed the last kilometers that separated them from Oia.

Atlantida Villas was located on Oia Main Street, a long and modern walk where all the most expensive hotels of the village had got built. Yet all of them respected the peculiar architecture of the Cyclades: little houses made of lime, either blue or white, built in the cliff that overlooked the Caldera and the volcano.

Infinity pools offered a contrast of blue with the Aegan sea while the gray stones of the outdoor stairs were like little touches of darker colors.

There was no car in Oia as the streets were too narrow to drive through them. The first feeling Jane had of it was that it looked like the Mont Saint Michel in France. She had gone there once during a school trip and had enjoyed losing herself in its labyrinth of streets.

Oia was exactly the same except that it overlooked another kind of view: the one of Mediterranean countries with olive trees and this blue - so deep - that she had never seen anywhere else in the world.

"I am sorry I couldn't upgrade you. When I saw that you weren't a couple, I wanted to offer you a twin-bed bedroom but all our apartments are booked. We are full. I hope you won't mind sharing a bed. The studio has a couch too but it is not the same."

Oula was a very joyful woman in her thirties. Her father owned the hotel and she had joined the family business after her college graduation. Too busy observing the impressive landscape, Jane and Maura barely reacted to her comment. They had already shared a bed, it wasn't an issue in itself anyway.

After endless outdoor stoned stairs, they finally arrived on a small terrace where two chaise-longue and a small table had been installed in a corner. Oula opened the door and stepped inside the studio.

Everything was white and blue, from the kitchen to the couch and the small table by a tiny window that overlooked the Caldera. The bed was upstairs, on the mezzanine. It was small but perfect. Absolutely perfect. Bright and friendly.

"Since you have won this trip, Atlantida Villas offers you this bottle of Ouzo. It is a very famous Greek local alcohol. I hope that you will enjoy it. If you need anything, you can call the reception. _Kali dhiamoni*_!"

Since Maura nodded and waved at Oula, Jane decided to do the same.

Perhaps she would have to put aside her reluctance to check Maura's Greek conversational guide and learn the basics if she didn't want to have to check what her friend did every time someone spoke to them in Greek. She patiently waited for Oula to leave to drop her suitcase and open the bottle of Ouzo.

"What did she say? What does _kali_-thing mean?"

Maura had already opened the closet and was unpacking. She had taken her shoes off and kept on stretching her ankles, numb after hours of inactivity.

"_Kali dhiamoni_ means 'see you later/see you soon'. People will often say it to you even if Santorini is so touristic that most of its inhabitants speak English. They appreciate it when a tourist makes the effort to say something in Greek."

The Ouzo burnt Jane's throat. It made her choke. She hadn't assumed that the alcohol was so strong. Did the Greeks drink that in the sun, all day long? If they did then the whole vampire myth started making sense. They probably had hallucinations and such.

She walked to the door and leaned on the frame before raising her glass.

"To the BPD lottery!"

If luck didn't strike very often in her life, Jane had to admit that it had really seen big this time. Maura joined her on the terrace. She had poured herself a glass of Ouzo as well and had changed into a summer dress.

"Let these vacations begin..."

...

Kalimera: Hello

Kali dhiamoni: See you later


	3. The Sunset

**Author's note: Thank you very much for the private messages, the reviews and the suggestions.**

**...**

_**"One simply does not wear stilettos in Santorini." Maura Isles.**_

**Chapter Three – The Sunset**

Four hours. They had arrived four hours ago and they hadn't left the hotel yet.

Jane had insisted: she wanted to have a nap, go for a swim in the private infinity pool of the hotel then sunbathe on one of the chaise-longue while sipping on one of these strawberry cocktails she had seen at the bar when they had headed to the small restaurant of Atlantida Villas for lunch.

At first Maura had obliged without complaining. She was Jane's guest, after all. It was basic politeness.

But after thirty minutes on her chaise-longue, her temper had won over her will to the point she was now obsessing over the fact that they were missing out every single thing that the island had to offer them. They could have gone to Akrotiri to visit the Minoan Bronze Age settlement of an ancient town or they could have taken the stairs that led to the beautiful harbor of Ammoudi to enjoy a peaceful afternoon by the sea.

But no.

Instead, Jane was all about cocktails and closing her eyes in spite of having a full view over the Caldera.

"Would you like to visit Nea Kameni, tomorrow? The volcano? We can actually see the crater. A shuttle could pick us up at 7.30am to take us to the harbor. From there, a three-master waits for us. It is a full day excursion: hiking and diving into warm springs. There is no better view over Oia and Thira than from Nea Kameni..."

Jane opened an incredulous eye. Her lack of enthusiasm let Maura understand that her suggestion hadn't managed to stir up an ounce of excitement but at least she had got a reaction from her friend which was a victory in itself.

"7.30am?" Jane sat up and pretended to check on her friend. "Is the sun too strong for you, Maura? We're on vacation. The only place where we should be at 7.30am is our bed!"

Of course. Maura held back a laugh and raised a hand instead to apologize.

Jane wasn't an early bird but the Greek temperatures were such that people tended to wake up in the first hours of the morning to go about their business and they rested in the afternoon when the sun was too strong to stay outside. They were in June, after all: the summer as she and Maura knew it had already hit Santorini.

"Alright."

Maura stood up and proceeded to put her clothes back on. The thin fabric of her dress had warmed up in the sun. It slid along her skin like a hot kiss.

"Where are you going to? To the volcano?"

If Maura hadn't been wearing her large Chanel sunglasses then Jane would have seen a mischievous flame burn in her friend's hazel eyes. She still noticed the smirk that slightly curled up her lips, though. Maura shook her head, her laugh rising loudly in the peaceful afternoon.

"No... But I am going to prepare a surprise for you, for this evening. You are sure that you want to stay at the hotel, this afternoon?" Jane nodded. "Fine. I will be back on time. Be ready for 6pm."

Jane's silence echoed her confusion but as she watched how Maura walked away then something very familiar caught her attention; something that was missing.

"Hey! You're aware you're about to go out with flat shoes on, right?"

The question, which tone was closer to a remark than to a question in itself, caused Maura to stop and turn around to shake her head at her friend. A hand on her hip, she took her sunglasses off and offered Jane her best attempt to look annoyed. It failed, it always did. She couldn't really be angry with Jane.

"Rule number one: one simply does not wear stilettos in Santorini. Have you seen the streets? They are all made of stairs, a multitude of cobblestone steps. Wearing high heels here is the best way to sprain your ankle, Jane. Oh and since you are mentioning it... These aren't vulgar flat shoes but Roman sandals."

...

The moment she stepped outside the hotel, Jane swore to herself that she was about to give a brand new definition to the word 'crowded'.

It was 6.15pm and hundreds of tourists had invaded the narrow streets of Oia. The lack of air was awful and everyone shuffled along instead of properly walking. Her first thought went for the locals. How on Earth did they manage to face such nightmare for five months in a row? She would never complain about the Bostonian traffic ever again after that.

"Where are we going to?"

If Jane suffered from the situation, Maura completely seemed in her element. She had visited Santorini a dozen of times already, the place had no secret for her. She knew the small, parallel streets that tourists didn't dare to take. She knew the restaurants, the cafes that were worth it. So she lightly trotted among the crowd, happy like a little girl.

Yet the moment they reached the main square by a huge church, she changed her pace and grabbed Jane's hand before dragging her towards what looked like a dead-end alley. She laughed. Lightly, happily.

"I told you that it was a surprise. Don't you trust me?"

The dead-end alley turned out to be an even smaller street. Empty. Glad to have left the crowd of tourists behind them, Jane took a deep breath and was about to reply when something brushed her ankle. She let a furtive scream come out.

A tabby cat had showed up out of the blue and was now staring at her as if she had lost her mind. But it is only when it jumped on a low wall that she noticed it wasn't alone. Five other cats were peacefully sleeping in the sun. None of them had moved an inch in spite of her loud and extreme reaction. Maura approached them.

"Greece is famous for its abandoned cats... They all live on the streets. People feed them, they won't do you any harm. They are used to having people around, even more in Oia."

"If you say so... But why preparing me a surprise? We're not on a honeymoon, you don't have to play the wife's surprise card."

Jane choked on her nervous laugh. Why had she said that? The jet lag. It must have been the jet lag. Maura thankfully didn't seem to care much and resumed her walking at a more reasonable pace.

The village was a real labyrinth, a tangle of streets and high walls that protected the houses from visitors' curiosity.

Flowers and ivy sometimes joined above the passers-by's head creating thus a vegetal roof that naturally prevented the sun from piercing through. After an endless and quiet wandering, they finally arrived in front of a very small door. Maura knocked on it.

A man in his early forties - green eyes and olive skin - opened the door. Maura instantly threw herself in his arms which took Jane aback. Her friend never gave into such effusion, she didn't like it. Or at least not in Boston. It seemed like the whole Greece vibe brought to the light a very different side of Maura.

"Jane... Let me introduce you to a very good friend of mine: Kostos. Kostos, this is Jane... You know, the friend I talked to you about."

Way too many questions rose in Jane's head within the next minute, bumping into each other in a deafening silence that made her feel dizzy.

When had Maura talked about her to him? And why? What had she said? And who was this Kostos, exactly? She politely shook his hand nonetheless then forced a smile in spite of the very unpleasant sensation that got stirred up in her lower stomach as she witnessed the knowing look he and Maura exchanged.

Without waiting any longer by the door, they walked in and took a long corridor. Maura's joyful voice resounded loudly and sharply contrasted with Jane's sudden silence. She didn't want to take part in the conversation. Anyway, she didn't have the feeling that she had been invited to do so.

Kostos finally opened a door on their right. Jane hadn't even seen it. The sun that pierced through it blinded them right away while the frenzy of the terrace broke the religious silence of the corridor they had walked through.

A restaurant. They had just reached a restaurant that overlooked the Caldera and the crowd of tourists that had decided to gather on the streets below to observe the sunset from the cliffs.

Kostos led them to the best table that had been booked for them then excused himself before leaving. At least he hadn't decided to impose himself. Good point.

Jane looked at him go away. She was dying to know details about how he and Maura had met but something told her that she should remain quiet. It was none of her business. Her friend had probably met him during one of her previous trips to the archipelago.

End of the story.

"So..." Barely able to hold back the grin that lit up her hazel eyes, Maura motioned the scenic view. "Do you enjoy your surprise? This is the best spot in Oia to observe the sunset and since it is your very first Greek sunset, I wanted it to be memorable enough."

Of course, the gesture touched Jane. Maura had used her contacts to make sure that she would live a very unique experience in the best way ever and the truth was she knew how lucky she was. Tourists on the streets below cast furtive glances at the terrace with envy. The restaurant was crowded but at least they had a seat and didn't have to stand on their tiptoes to catch a glimpse of the Aegan sea unlike people below.

"Very much so..."

A young waitress brought them a bottle of wine. Maura asked her a few things in Greek. They laughed much to Jane's confusion and only once the employee had left did Maura focus back on her friend.

"This wine is labeled Vinsanto which means it is predominantly made from the Assyrtiko grape - around 51% - while the rest is made up of Athiri and Aidani." She grabbed her glass and raised it. "It is a white wine, dry but rather sweet... _Stin iyia mas*_!"

Their glasses knocked together just as a musician started playing a folkloric song somewhere below on the street. Jane immediately turned her head to look at the artist but got caught by the breathtaking view of the Caldera instead.

She had seen many sunsets in her life but none that embraced peaceful waters of such intense colors. It looked magic, a monochrome of orange shades that seemed to slide on the few sailing boats as the sun brushed the edge of the sea.

"_Efkharisto*_..."

Her whisper surprised Maura who raised an incredulous eyebrow as an amused smile lit up her graceful features.

"Since when do you speak Greek?"

Jane put down her glass of wine and picked an olive. This trip to the Cyclades was the best unexpected thing that had happened in her life so far.

"I might have checked your conversational book between two cocktails this afternoon. What can I say? A girl needs to know how to order her drinks."

...

Stin iyia mas: Cheers

Efkharisto: Thank you


	4. From The North To The South

**Author's note: Thank you very much for the reviews and private messages (I will reply to the PMs this weekend).**

**...**

_**"I have rocks in my hair!" Jane Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter Four – From The North To The South**

Jane stepped out on the small terrace of their studio wearing nothing but a long shirt and her sunglasses. She waved a hand at Maura then sat next to her at the table. The sun had woken her up. It had pierced through the wooden shutters and had slid on her skin in a warm embrace; too warm to remain asleep.

She yawned. Thankfully they had gone to bed early the evening before. After a short walk through the village, they had headed back to the hotel and had fallen asleep within the hour; exhausted after such a long journey.

"_Kalimera*_!" Fresh as a daisy, Maura poured a mug of coffee for Jane then pointed the different plates that littered the table. "This is a typical Greek breakfast: yogurt, honey, coffee... If you need more, ask Maria. She is the woman who is watering the plants by the swimming-pool."

Jane grabbed a slice of watermelon and bent over the low wall to check the employee Maura had mentioned. The infinity pool was located two floors lower but the vegetation was such that she could barely see an ounce of blue through all the flowers and the plants. Her curiosity to see what Maria looked like would have to wait.

"So what have you planned for us today? And don't pretend you don't have anything in head. I know you do, Maura..."

As long as it didn't include Kostos then Jane was all fine with Maura's plans. She knew that her attitude towards him was not justified but she couldn't help it. He had been adorable with them the evening before at the restaurant, making sure that they had every single thing they wanted, but Jane had obsessed over the way he ogled Maura whenever he stopped by their table.

They had probably slept together. As a matter of fact, Jane was certain of that. And so what? They were both adults and free to do whatever they wanted. Kostos was good-looking, after all. And nice. And smart.

"Akrotiri."

Maura's voice put an end to Jane's wonders. Back to reality. The taste of coffee spread in her mouth before warming up her throat. It was strong and dark; just the way she liked it.

"It's 7.30am, Maura. Please talk to me in English. My brain's not functioning at its fullest."

A very loud siren resounded in the distance. Jane took her sunglasses off and squinted her eyes at the sea that spread below. A ferry was leaving the coast, a large one. It came from Thira. She lost herself in the contemplation of the foam the boat was leaving behind, a trail of white troubling the blue waters of the Aegan sea.

How come the sun was so bright and high already? It reflected on the waves in delicate shades of gold and floodlit the whiteness of the little houses on the cliff.

"Akrotiri is the name of a Bronze Age settlement, a Minoan town. It is located on the other side of the island, right in the South. We need to take two buses to go there: first one to Thira then one to the site."

"Bones? You want to see bones? Maura... You're on vacation! Let it go." Although the deep interest her friend showed in ancient civilizations secretly pleased Jane. There was something cute about it, something nerdy and cute. "I don't know if I'll survive a bus ride through this island. I really thought I was gonna die yesterday."

There are many different reactions Maura could have showed at this exact moment: she could have burst out laughing, she could have mocked Jane. She could have even teased her. But the one she actually chose – subconsciously enough – took them both aback.

She slid a hand on her friend's nape instead and caressed the hot skin Jane's dark curls hid there before bending over to plant a comforting kiss on her cheek.

"If I tell you that there is a beach in the area, does it help you overcome your slight reluctance to take a bus?"

...

_Red Beach, Kokkini in Greek, is well known for the unique color of the sand and the hill behind it. Soaring red lava cliffs which drop right to the black sandy shore and into the clear blue sea, make for a majestic setting and one to enjoy._

The least Jane could say was that she was rather curious to see it. It looked very small on the picture of the guide book as only two rows of chaise-longue could fit in between the cliff and the sea. Small and windy. The waves were big.

Her conscience had also caused her to read the description of Akrotiri. It looked like a small Pompei; interesting but not as much as the beach.

"There are donkeys on the side of the road!"

There was something incredibly sweet in Maura's genuine excitement. It was actually the first time that the two of them went on vacation together so far from Boston. Their surroundings were very exotic and Jane saw it as an occasion to see Maura differently, to find out a side of her personaly that she didn't know much until now.

And the truth was that she loved it.

They stepped out of the first bus in Thira just on time to catch back a second one right away. They didn't stay long on the asphalt but Jane realized that the bus station was an adventure in itself: tourists were walking between the buses, drivers were yelling their destinations in Greek and parked in the rather narrow parking lot with a terrifying hability.

The South of Santorini didn't turn out to be as mountainous as the North and soon the landscape revealed vineyards and fields. It didn't look like Oia anymore. The roads weren't craggy but large and rather flat. Jane relaxed immediately.

"How many times have you come here, exactly?" If the guide book she had read while on the first bus was right, the drive to Akrotiri would take them 30 minutes which meant Jane had to find a topic to discuss if only to kill time.

Maura's pink cheeks adopted a darker shade. Aware of her blushing, she looked down at her lap to escape from Jane's gaze. Her relaxed attitude had melted into an obvious and sudden discomfort, one that made her timidly smile.

"This is my fourteenth visit to Santorini. I... This island owns a special place in my heart so I am really happy to share it with you this time."

The sweetness of the confession in disguise didn't reach Jane at all. She missed it out completely as she only kept in mind the amount of times her friend had visited the archipelago already. It was a lot considering that Santorini wasn't such a big island. She had probably even beat some sort of record.

"I won't ask you how many times you've been to Akrotiri. Obviously, you know this place by heart. I don't even get why you want to go back there today!"

Maura's hand slid on Jane's like a comforting caress; an unexpected one. She locked her hazel eyes with her friend's dark ones and let the serenity of her smile rock them both and carry them somewhere else; far from the bus, far from the other tourists.

"Because this is something that you have to see. Trust me."

And it was true. In spite of the scorching heat, Jane found the archeological site of Akrotiri to be extremely interesting to the point that she even complained when Maura announced that it was time for them to go to the beach.

She had been to Italy and France, she knew the weight of European History but something singular seemed to emanate from the ruins of Akrotiri; something powerful and fascinating. The houses, the cobblestone streets, the squares. A very odd feeling to be part of an incredible past had stirred up unknown feelings in Jane. She loved every second of their long visit.

They walked the short distance that separated them from the archeological site to the taverns by the sea.

It was a beautiful day, peaceful and very sunny. As they reached the end of the road – by the bus stop – a dozen of tourists appeared from the small harbor on their right. It was lunch time and a multitude of couples and families had invaded the narrow terraces to enjoy the local products and the catch of the morning.

It smelled of sea food and freshly baked bread. People were smiling. Maura closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"How about we go straight to the beach then buy a few sandwiches once there? All the taverns here seem to be full... Unless you prefer to wait and go to the restaurant instead."

Jane adjusted her sunglasses and opened a large bottle of icy water that they had just bought. The amount of liters she had drunk in the morning was rather impressive. She was close to break a personal record. But then the temperatures - combined to the wind - made her feel very thirsty.

"Red Beach, here we come."

Except taking the sea path instead of the road to go to Kokkini turned out to be more of an adventure than Jane would have imagined. If they did manage to walk along the tavern terraces for a while, they soon ended up facing nothing but the sea. They had missed the catamaran that could have taken them to Red Beach and the next one would not show up before another hour. Conclusion: they were stuck.

Or so.

Not bothered by the situation, Maura took off her sandals and stepped into the water. Little waves crashed against her ankles, warm ones. She made sure that Jane was following her before resuming her walking.

A couple of extra tavern terraces and a parking lot later, they finally reached the cliffs that led to Red Beach.

Kokkini was very windy and the moment they reached the summit of the small path, the sound of big waves crashing below rose in the air so loudly that they covered their ears. The narrow ribbon of gray sand appeared on their right.

Jane stopped to take a few pictures; some that she would make sure to send her colleagues just to tease them the way everyone expected her to do. She made a step backwards and was about to press the button when something landed in her hair; something light. She brought a hand to her mane and took small stones out of it. Red stones. She looked up to check whether someone had throw them at her but soon realized that it came from the cliff.

"I have rocks in my hair! Maura... The cliff is eroding. That's freaking dangerous!"

Peacefully sitting on a rock by the edge of the cliff, Maura offered her friend a smile worth a thousand words. She looked amused, way too amused for Jane's taste.

"It is, indeed. Therefore the sign on your left that says hikers shouldn't be standing under it."

Jane turned around in a very furtive movement and stared at the wooden sign. The colors had faded away but the warning was nonetheless clear. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore the fact that, if she survived the bus rides, chances were that she would die in Akrotiri knocked off by a lava cliff.

Greece was not as peaceful as it looked on pictures.


	5. The Greek Girl

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all your reviews!**

**...**

_**"Many people engage in sexual intercourse in public swimming-pools." Maura Isles.**_

**Chapter Five – The Greek Girl**

Maura grabbed Jane's Roman sandals and trotted to the small terrace of their studio to put them on the table. She had just stepped out of the shower and water drops were shining on her shoulders like little diamonds. Yet the moment she made it outside, the heat swallowed them all within a second and the sun started burning her skin.

"If you want the leather to get darker then you have to put them in the sun. This is what I did with mine. Do you see the difference of color?"

"Yeah... I mostly see you're standing half-naked on a terrace that hundreds of tourists are currently overlooking!" Jane discreetly pointed up towards the sky, towards the street above. They were on main street, after all. "Some might think the Caldera scenic view just got an upgrade."

Jane's prudery was something that Maura had got used to through the years even if she didn't really understand it. Not really eager to insist even if she didn't see where the problem was since she was wearing a mid-thigh bath towel, Maura approached her friend, squinted her eyes at her then took out of her dark curls a few red stones. Her timid laugh rose in the air.

"You came back to Oia with souvenirs from Kokkini."

Santorini was a small island yet Jane was amazed by the difference of climate between the South and the North.

Their excursion to Akrotiri and Red Beach had been nice but she was glad to be back to Oia where the wind was almost nonexistant. The waves had been too big for her to properly enjoy the sea out there and the constant erosion of the cliff had forced her to remain in a permanent state of alert. At least in Oia, life was going on peacefully and nothing fell into her hair.

"It's okay... I'll take a shower after going for a swim." She cast a glance below at the infinity pool. A couple of tourists had just left and the place was now empty. Perfect timing. "I'll be back in half an hour or something."

Maura began to hang out her washing. If Jane didn't seem to care about her own bikinis, she, Maura, made sure to rinse hers whenever she used them and there was always a collection of colorful ones hung up on their terrace.

She had turned the radio on and was moving along the song, a Greek one, that was now playing. She nodded at Jane but didn't bother to turn around to face her either. It was still early. The buses full of tourists hadn't made it yet to Oia for the sunset. The village was somehow quiet. It was relaxing.

"Why not going for a swim in the sea, instead? Many people engage in sexual intercourse in public swimming-pools."

Her remark caused Jane to stare at her disgustedly. This was Maura for you. Why did she have to do that? Why now while she, Jane, had mentally prepared herself to a quiet swimming session?

"Because the sea is 365 steps below and... Ew...? This is one very gross fact, Maura. I do not thank you for sharing it with the rest of the class."

The smell of Monoi rose in the air as Maura started applying some on her bare arms. Jane's reaction was exactly the one that she had expected to get and she had to admit that she found it rather entertaining. Teasing her was so easy yet so tempting.

"The sea is still better, especially for your skin... No matter it takes you a year to reach it." Maura rolled her eyes as she faced her friend's puzzled face. "365 steps, Jane. Like the amount of days in a year?"

Jane repressed the urge that nonetheless rose in her lower stomach, the one that wanted her to reply that it was the biggest nerdy joke she had heard in a while, and let a snort come out instead. She liked nerdy Maura too much right now to actually make fun of her.

"I've never been fond of mathematics."

Safer reply.

...

The bar looked like a very hype New York lounge except that it overlooked the Aegan sea and the multitude of little lights that spread all along the cliffs of Oia. Loud music was blasting through enormous speakers and good-looking waiters went from one couch to another to bring the clients their drinks.

A bit intimidated by the scene that didn't match at all with what they had seen of Greece so far, Jane and Maura found a couch available at the very far end of the bar and checked the menu. Since they had had dinner at their studio, Jane had suggested that they could go out for a drink afterwards. Oia wasn't famous for its nightlife but she didn't want to take a bus and go to Thira. The Tropical Bar would do the trick. Surrounded by old wind mills, the place had a singular beat.

"_Kalispera*_, ladies. What would you like to drink?"

Of course people would talk to them in English. The bar was probably full of tourists only. Yet Jane made an effort to order her cocktail in Greek and stuck out her chest in pride as she noticed that Maura was looking at her in approval.

"There's an open air cinema in Kamari every evening. We could go there tomorrow, what do you think?"

The suggestion warmed up Maura's heart. Jane hadn't gone abroad a lot but she really seemed to adapt to the different environment and culture rather easily nonetheless.

They were still a bit jet lagged but at least she showed interest in what Santorini had to offer them. She had even spent a large part of their late afternoon reading one of the travel guide books Maura had brought with her. She had probably learned about the open air cinema in it.

"This is an excellent idea. I remember that Kostos took me there, one summer. The movies come in English, with Greek subtitles." Maura didn't miss the way Jane's smile froze. As usual when something seemed to be wrong, an alarm set off in her head. Concerned, she bent over to close the distance with Jane and squeezed her friend's knee in a subconscious gesture. "Are you alright?"

Jane nodded but didn't add anything. She didn't look sick but uncomfortable as if something was bothering her; something that she didn't dare to talk about. Her silence caused Maura's heart to hurt a bit but it only lasted a few seconds as the waiter came back and put an abrupt end to whatever had just happened.

"I like a lot your Roman sandals." The comment was very superficial but Maura felt the urge to give another direction to their conversation. She hadn't liked the silence that had followed her remark about the movie theater in Kamari so she needed to talk, she needed to cover the odd feeling that was still floating above their heads. "They look good on you... They make your ankles look even thinner."

Jane looked down at her feet. It had been a spontaneous purchase in Akrotiri. The bus was late and there was nothing else to do than wandering through the small shop by the taverns.

She liked them too and she could bare the heat better than when she was wearing her tennis shoes.

"So this is where you wanna get married?" The volcano rose in the darkness of the night somewhere in the distance. Jane motioned it as a timid smile played on her lips. "You hadn't said it could be so windy!"

"It is just a fantasy. We both know that I am not the kind of person who will ever get married." Maura took a sip of her Mojito. It was strong, exactly what she needed. She locked her eyes with Jane's and bit her lips. "Too complicated."

She was about to add something – something that would sweep away the bitterness in disguise of her comment – when she realized that the red candles lit up on their table had been settled together to form a heart.

Just another romantic setting on a romantic island. All day long in Oia they could see Chinese brides and grooms striking the pose by the cliffs. Love was everywhere around them but, as usual, it didn't seem eager to reach them. They were apart, Maura knew it.

They were apart and would always be.

"Does it make of me a bad person if I say I'm really not looking foward to going back to Boston?" Jane's nervous laugh betrayed her slight discomfort. She grabbed her cocktail and began to play with the straw. She had noticed the singular delicacy of their dynamism as well and she didn't know what to do with it. "Cavanaugh was right, you know. Maybe I'll never want to go back home. Maybe _this_ is home."

She felt fine in Santorini in spite of the huge cultural differences with the USA. The crowd of tourists still went on her nerves but her latent anxiety before it had subdued and she was succumbing little by little to the indolence of the local way of living. She was even able to say a few things in Greek while they had barely arrived the day before and that she had never been really good at modern languages.

"Who knows... Are you going to dance, tonight?"

A mischievous flame started burning in Maura's eyes as she motioned with her head the dancefloor by the swimming-pool. A few clients had gathered there and were swaying their hips, a cocktail in hand. Jane burst out laughing. She vehemently shook her head.

"As far as I know, Lady Gaga's last tune has very little to do with a sirtaki."

"Is this your way of telling me that you will dance the sirtaki?" Maura didn't resist the implicit challenge. She eagerly bent over to make sure that she didn't need to speak loudly in spite of the music and whispered into Jane's ear. "I am proud of you, Greek girl."

Her hot breath embraced Jane's face and made her shiver so much that she barely reacted to the kiss Maura planted on her cheek and to the way her fingers had slid along her chin to cup her face. It was a bold move, even for them. They were very close friends but never kissed and very rarely hugged. Their connection was subtle; a hand brushing another one, a look that lasted one second too long. Nothing blatant like a kiss.

Jane assumed that Maura's sudden effusion was caused by alcohol and their relaxing environment; the sweetness of their days in the sun. They had left their stress and all the rest in Boston. There was no crime scene in Santorini, no tragedies. Only smiles and the warm feeling to finally embrace the brightest side of life.

It was highly satisfying. Intoxicating.

...

Kalispera: Good evening


	6. Dongu The Donkey

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews and messages, it is a pleasure to read them.**

**...**

_**"I don't know if I should listen to a woman who talks to donkeys." Jane Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter Six – Dongu The Donkey**

The sound of the shower woke Maura up but – instead of getting up – she decided to stay in bed and kept her eyes closed to enjoy a bit longer the softness of her half-asleep state. She rolled on her side and landed directly on Jane's pillow. Her friend's smell went to her head, not bewitchingly but reassuringly.

It had melted in the fragrance of sunscreen since they had arrived to Greece. The combination of scents was delicate and unique. Maura loved it.

The sound of a door in her back caused her to abandon once and for all her morning lethargy. She opened an eye and watched how Jane stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a bath towel before walking towards a very small table on the other side of the bed by a small window she had probably opened when she had got up.

"Sorry, I woke you up? I forgot to take a shirt...!" Jane's voice was soft and betrayed her concern to have prevented Maura from sleeping a bit longer. She turned around to look at her friend and leaned her back against the windowsill. "Mosquitos had a Rizzoli fest, last night. You should see my stomach. I'm covered..."

"Oh Ja-..."

Sadly Maura didn't have time to finish her sentence. Jane screamed out loud as she felt something grab her bath towel in her back. She instinctively ran away from the window yet making sure that she wouldn't lose the only piece of fabric that covered her naked body.

Once she considered the distance safe enough, she turned around to look at whatever had tried to chew on her towel and eat her alive.

Maura had got up in the meantime and had rushed to the window where she was now caressing the head of a donkey. A donkey that was eating the flowers of the hotel. Jane blinked. Where the hell had she landed?

"It is just a donkey, Jane. I am sure that it didn't try to bite you. It simply miscalculated the distance between the plants and your back."

The window overlooked the street made of outdoor stone stairs that led down to Armeni Bay. It wasn't the first time that they saw donkeys pass by but none of them had stopped by for a snack so far.

Still slightly reluctant, Jane nonetheless approached but she certainly didn't touch the animal unlike Maura who as usual seemed to have a blast in spite of the oddness of the situation.

"Dongu won't do you any harm. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Maria's flowers... Look at this disaster."

Jane followed with her eyes Maura's gesture of the hand until her curiosity got piqued and a question burned her lips in spite of the incongruous situation. She pushed aside her latent fear to sound stupid – anyway Maura was used to it – and spoke out loud.

"Dongu? What's that? A breed?"

Maura shook her head. She laughed but not in a mocking way at all and Jane relaxed a bit. She wasn't a specialist of donkeys, after all. Perhaps 'Dongu' meant something that she should have known but actually ignored.

"No. Dongu is his name. You see the Greek characters on its saddlery? It says 'Dongu'."

Trying to ignore her fear, Jane made a step closer to the animal and squinted her eyes at the embroidered characters.

"What does it mean? Does Dongu mean something in Greek?"

Something hurt a little in Maura's heart as she watched the donkey eat the very last flower left on their windowsill. What a waste! But Dongu didn't seem to be agressive at all. On the contrary, it enjoyed the caresses that she gave it on top of its head.

"Not that I know of..."

An old man appeared on their left. He was holding a pilgrim's staff and the sun had dug deep folds in his face, the same as the ones people who spend most of their life outside had. But as soon as he saw the donkey, he started yelling at the animal in Greek.

Maura began to talk to him. Jane couldn't understand but by the sound of it, her friend was trying to calm him down a little bit. The heated conversation lasted a couple of minutes and as other donkeys passed by, Dongu left; the old man holding him firmly by the saddlery.

"Now show me your mosquito bites."

Maura took Jane completely aback. Talk about a lack of transition. Within a second, she abandoned the contemplation of the street by the window and walked to her friend to kneel down in front of her.

Her fingers brushed the bath towel but Jane turned out to be faster this time and she made a step backwards. She was naked under the towel and there was no way for her to undress like that in front of Maura because of mosquito bites.

Her nervousness showed through the laugh that passed her lips as she vehemently shook her head.

"Hey! This isn't striptease time!"

Jane's prudery only managed to make Maura roll her eyes. She vaguely motioned the bathroom and sat on the bed.

"Then go put on your bikini... As much as you don't have anything I don't have myself. I am a medical doctor, Jane. You wouldn't be the first person I would see naked, you know."

Although if she had to be honest then Maura had to say that she was glad Jane preferred to not walk around their studio naked.

Something oddly bothered her in the idea, something that then stirred up a funny sensation she shouldn't have been feeling. Like the dream she had had during the night. Hopefully she hadn't talked during her sleep because she knew that it happened to her at times.

She had spent the last three days with Jane and nobody else. Her subconscious had simply mistook their sudden closeness for something else. The dream didn't bother her in itself because she knew that it didn't necessarily mean anymething. Jane, however...

If she got to learn about it, she would probably hide behind a curtain of embarrassment and it would weigh on the rest of their trip.

Jane.

As if she had overheard Maura's thoughts, Jane walked back in the room and stood in front of her friend. Her discomfort was obvious even if she now wore her athletic style bikini. Maura positioned herself a few inches away from her friend's stomach and squinted her eyes at the bites trying to convince herself that it wasn't Jane but a patient like any other one.

"Oh, I see. I am going to apply some lotion on the bites. Does it itch a lot?"

Jane nodded but kept her lips pursed. The infamous perversion of mosquitos had showed again on her body and most of the bites were located on her lower stomach and inner thighs. These really weren't zones she wanted Maura to massage. Yet she didn't have much of a choice.

The smell of lemon soon filled the air of the small bedroom area. Too embarrassed to look at her friend, Jane decided to close her eyes. The first touch made her jump with surprise. Light, almost like an invisible caress. Maura's fingertips slid on the olive skin and brushed the hem of Jane's bikini bottom. None of them dared to speak but the silence was enough to betray a thousand untold things.

Maura didn't miss the goosebumps on Jane's arms the moment her breath, hot, brushed her friend's lower stomach. She was barely a couple of inches away from it, from the dark skin that smelled of soap and lemon body lotion now.

The flesh was smooth and warm under her touch. Firm.

She then moved to Jane's left inner thigh. Of course she could have left her friend apply the lotion by herself but none of them had even made the suggestion. For whatever reason. Perhaps because Maura was a medical doctor.

Perhaps because they actually enjoyed whatever was now happening, shamefully.

"Three times a day. It needs to be applied three times a day. And avoid the sun on them as it could leave scars."

Jane nodded – her brain numb by Maura's touch – but her subconscious played a trick on her and as soon as her friend mentioned scars, she brought a hand to her stomach.

She had applied a lot of lotion and was glad to have found a bikini that covered whatever was left of the day she had shot herself. The scar wasn't invisible but she had nonetheless been lucky. It could easily pass unnoticed for whoever ignored what had occured.

Maura didn't, though. She had even witnessed it.

"Three times a day? That's a lot."

Maura stood up and looked at Jane in disapproval. The slight discomfort of what had just happened was now gone. Or so. At least they both tried their hardest to sweep it away and go on pretending that nothing had really troubled them, that nothing had really happened.

"Seriously, Maura... I don't know if I should listen to a woman who talks to donkeys."

Maura nonchalantly shrugged and walked down the stairs to order breakfast. It was the only meal of the day that they could get in room service and she had already got used to the idea of savoring a homemade yogurt while observing the Aegan sea that spread below the cliff; the ferries leaving the harbor of Thira for the other islands of the Cyclades.

"I am not sure that someone who is afraid of cats and donkeys really is in a position to mock anyone, Jane."

"What?! Hey! Wait!" Her bruised ego pushed Jane to rush down the stairs and run after Maura. There were some things that she just couldn't accept. "I am _not_ afraid of cats and donkeys! It's just that they don't stop taking me by surprise... There's a difference in there, Maura! And a big one!"

"Whatever..."

Jane's gasp made Maura burst out laughing. She loved their bickering. It was ridiculous and extremely childish but there was something addicting about it. It made her feel happy, incredibly happy. A so-called grumpy Jane grabbed a chair on the terrace and sat on it. She crossed her arms on her chest then snorted, murmuring between her clenched teeth.

"I'm not afraid of donkeys." She paused before angrily looking at Maura. "And nobody whatever-s me! Duh! The nerves, I swear..."


	7. This Isn't Jealousy

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all your reviews and messages, it's a real pleasure to converse with you.**

**...**

_**"No, I don't have any fun fact to share about the public toilets of this open air cinema." Maura Isles.**_

**Chapter Seven – This Is Not Jealousy**

"This cinema opened in 1987 and is now considered as one of the ten best open air cinemas worldwide. From ancient times the theaters in Greece were open roofed but with the development of cinema, movies were mostly shown in the local _kafeneion_'s* and central squares of the towns and villages throughout the country, as well as in theaters."

Jane was not in the mood to listen to Maura's lecture about the history of cinema in Greece. Her friend had spent the whole afternoon giving her facts about the little seaside town of Kamari and her patience was now reaching its limits.

Years of experience had taught her that a nod from time to time was enough to keep Maura from taking any kind of attitude badly. And this harmless little trick was working wonderfully right now for Jane.

A nod, a smile. A smile, a nod.

They had arrived to the cinema an hour earlier just to make sure to be there on time but an impressive line was already waiting outside the building. Mostly locals. As much as Jane tried to focus on their conversations, she couldn't guess the slightest word and it went on her nerves. There was nothing more frustrating than a language barrier.

Her shirt brushed her skin as she slightly moved and it caused the mosquito bites to itch. Jane clenched her teeth.

The feeling had driven her crazy all day long although the only thing she had kept in mind was the moment Maura had applied cream on them in the morning. The situation had taken her aback and it was now bothering her. A lot.

Too much, actually.

"Oh, look. Kostos is there!"

It happened so fast that Jane didn't have time to realize what she was doing. The moment she saw him wave at them, she passed a protective hand on Maura's waist and smiled back at him. Of course Maura noticed the gesture. She cast a furtive glance at her friend but didn't make any comment. The pink of her cheeks spoke for her anyway.

The gesture came out of the blue, its unexpected character troubling her a lot more than what she would ever admit.

"Good... Good evening." Even her voice resounded flat as Kostos approached. Jane's hand was burning against her hip, too much to focus on anything else. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, and you? Going to the movies, I see? What an excellent idea. Do you remember the last time we went? Haha."

Maura politely nodded at him. She wasn't blind nor stupid. She had noticed the way Jane didn't feel at ease when Kostos was around. Her friend's protective side immediately showed and in the most blatant way. For absolutely no reason.

Kostos was a nice person, a very nice person. There was nothing to fear, nothing to be afraid of. He would certainly not do her any harm; not the way other men had in the past, in Boston.

"Yes. I suggested Maura we'd go out tonight. An open air cinema... Isn't it romantic?"

Jane's tone betrayed a very clear underlying. The words had passed her lips with an unusual boldness, almost insolently. The way she looked at him – with her chin up in defiance – didn't help much either. Maura heavily blushed, embarrassed by her friend's not so subtle reaction.

Kostos simply burst out laughing. He ran a hand through his hair and checked the poster on their left.

"_The Bridges of Madison County_... Yes, it's romantic... Yet terribly sad! I hope you've brought extra tissues. Anyway, I have to go now. Papi's waiting for me. See you soon in Oia and enjoy your... Romantic evening."

A deep anger began to boil in Jane's stomach as Kostos winked at Maura when he mentioned the romantic evening. Was he flirting with her friend in spite of her presence? The nerves he had. She forced a smile nonetheless and watched him go away for her highest relief. Sadly the silence that followed his departure embraced her and Maura uncomfortably.

Jane knew that she had been awful, and cheeky. For no reason whatsoever. Maura didn't even show any particular interest in Kostos. She was just being polite and friendly. But even if she did, who was Jane to prevent her from doing it? Who was she to impose herself in such a very impolite way? It wasn't jealousy. No. She didn't see it like this. She was simply concerned because Maura meant the world to her.

As her strong feelings began to subdue, Jane's hand slid on Maura's waist. It brushed the fabric of her linen pants in a furtive gesture and soon the air put an end to the meaningful and disturbing touch. Jane leaned against the wall then put her hands in the pockets of her capri pants. She wasn't particularly tired but it was the only way she had found to look casual and still take some distance with her friend.

"So 1987, right? That's not bad... Any story about their bathroom that I should be aware of?" Her attempt to make a joke fell flat and made her blush. Even the nervous smile she flashed didn't help much. "I mean you had one about the toilets of the tavern we had dinner at."

"No, I don't have any fun fact to share about the toilets of this open air cinema." The slight sadness in Maura's voice showed that she had taken Jane's sarcasm too literally. She actually sounded sorry to not have anything to add about the place they were going to. "But their cocktails are excellent ones."

She didn't really need alcohol, though. The tavern had offered them the dessert as well as a small pitcher of Ouzo as it often went in Greece. Many traditional restaurants offered a few slices of watermelon or a small ice-cream as well as a few shots of their local alcohol for free at the end of the meal.

Of course she and Jane hadn't emptied the pitcher but she still felt a bit numb. A bit different.

The ghost of Jane's hand was still very present against her body. Maura didn't want to think about it but the sensation was too strong and won the battle over her reason way too easily.

Unless it was because of the Ouzo and that the vapors of alcohol strongly increased her sensitivity.

It had been a strange day. As if something had shifted. First her dream about Jane then their odd face-to-face when she had applied cream on her skin and now the evident mistrust her friend showed towards Kostos.

Unless it was jealousy.

The word barely had time to make it to Maura's head that she swept it away immediately. She couldn't accept such kindof scenario because she knew way too well what it would mean and there were some things that weren't supposed to be. It wasn't new. It had happened in Boston already and on multiple occasions. She had simply discarded it with an easiness that was too effective to be honest.

The open air cinema hadn't changed much. It looked like a typical amphitheater with very comfortable garden chairs and a lot of plants and flowers. They watched the movie while sipping on a homemade Mojito, in silence.

They had seen it several times already but never under the stars and with the murmur of the waves crashing on the beach, on the other side of the road. The place brought a singular shade to the whole thing. As a matter of fact, Jane was right: it was romantic. To an extent. To an extent that they weren't supposed to reach.

They took one of the last buses to go back to Oia. It was crowded. Did tourists never have a rest on this island? They always seem to be coming and going, all the time. It was weird.

"You would like to ride one, wouldn't you?"

The second bus from Thira to Oia was stuck in traffic and Jane was taking advantage of it to observe a rental car place on the other side of the road. They had come across many tourists riding beach buggies to go around the island. It was cheaper than a car and probably more enjoyable too considering the high temperatures.

She pouted, barely hiding an amused smile. Maura knew her way too well.

"Yeah... And no. It's too noisy and it probably pollutes a lot. This isn't good for Santorini."

Her reply surprised Maura. Jane was a rather conscious citizen but not to such an extreme point. It meant a lot and revealed many things about the way she saw the archipelago.

The words passed underneath Maura's skin and peacefully reached her heart to embrace it warmly. She had to admit that her friend's confession had touched her. A lot.

"Why the smile, Maura?"

"You perfectly know why." And without a second, Maura swept away the uncertainty that had haunted her mind since they had seen Kostos. She settled in Jane's arms then closed her eyes. She always felt fine when doing so. Always... "You perfectly know why..."

The moment she repeated her sentence for the second time, the whisper twirled in the air and seemed to carry away the blurrinness of its real meaning. Nobody could say if she was still talking about the reason why she was smiling. Not even herself. Her words had reached another stage, a more confusing one.

"You're tired?"

Jane passed an arm around her friend's waist and held her tightly; only in a softer way, this time. There was no jealousy anymore, no desire to let someone understand where she stood in all of this. She just wanted to be sweet and tender.

"Hmm..."

The bus finally managed to move on the main street of Thira, slowly. The town sped past in front of their eyes before the first houses of the next place, Firostefani, appeared in front of them.

"I'll wake you up when we're in Oia."

What happened next troubled Jane more than she would have imagined. Probably because it seemed to be coming from nowhere but from the depth of her subconscious. Her lips brushed Maura's hair as she bent over and she planted a kiss on top of her head. A quiet, furtive one that almost passed unnoticed. The gesture was full of care, full of an odd logic that she didn't know what to do with.

But instead of running away from it, an unknown force pushed her to embrace it fully. It sounded right, after all. So she didn't have to feel guilty.

...

Kafeneion: Cafes.


	8. Meet Me In Ammoudi

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews.**

**...**

_**"This isn't just coffee, this is caffeine orgasm." Jane Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter Eight – Meet Me In Ammoudi**

Maura had always liked the little harbor of Ammoudi.

The first time she had visited Santorini, she had taken the stairs down by accident but when the couple of taverns had appeared on her right after a very last curve, her curiosity had pushed Maura to resume her walking and go check the harbor that looked like a cove; a very small one.

Now after several visits to the archipelago, she knew all the fishermen and their wives who usually worked in the kitchen of the taverns. She could tell which boat was whom and when it was supposed to leave the island for a catch.

Ammoudi had no secret for her, starting with its lovely quietness that sharply contrasted with the crowded streets of Oia somewhere in her back, above her head.

The moment her toes brushed the transparent waters, Maura knew that she had taken the right decision. She hadn't slept well and after too many hours of a frustrating insomnia, she had left their studio on her tiptoes to come down to Ammoudi. The sun was already shining high in the sky but not a single tourist had ventured to take the 235 steps that led to the harbor yet. She was alone and appreciated it.

The needed distance was instinctive. Something was happening with Jane and she didn't know what to think about it. Of course she could keep on lying to herself and could pretend that there was absolutely nothing but such kind of behavior was vain because it didn't stop coming back to her brain one way or another.

Was it the exotic side of their surroundings? They were far from Boston, far from any of their daily references. Perhaps it did play a role, a big one, on their subconscious and that was the reason why they started playing with blurry limits.

"It is just a game."

Yet not really an innocent one. It could badly burn if she wasn't more careful. It was a matter of self-control and nothing else. Easy, a piece of cake. She repeated it to herself over and over, like a mantra of some sort. She had to believe in it. She really had to.

"Good morning."

For some reason, Jane's voice rising in her back didn't surprise her. She had left a note in their studio anyway to make sure that her friend would not get worried when she woke up. However, she hadn't assumed that Jane would come all the way down to Ammoudi to join her there.

"_Ti kanis_*?"

Jane didn't complain. On the contrary. The question asked in Greek stirred up a bright smile on her lips, a very honest one that echoed her quiet laugh as she sat next to Maura and observed the sea in front of them.

"_Kala efkharisto*_..."

She took it as a game, now. There was something funny and entertaining in the idea of speaking Greek with Maura. She wasn't able to make complex sentences but she definitely understood the basic questions very well, now.

And it was a lot less frustrating.

"Going down the stairs was nice but I'm kinda concerned about the moment we'll have to go back up. Is there a way to avoid this?" Jane turned around and pointed out the very large cobblestone stairs in her back.

"Well... You can take the road that you see out there after the very last tavern where a few cars are parked but... I am afraid to admit that it won't make it any easier. You still have the donkey option, though!" Maura's laugh rose cheerfully and matched the sparkle of delight in her eyes. They hadn't forgotten the little incident with Dongu the day before at the hotel. "We don't have to go up there in one go. We can take our time..."

Yet a surge of energy pushed her to stand up and grab Jane by the hand. She didn't want to remain there sitting down on the small pier. There was something way too intimate about it and it wasn't the kind of feeling that Maura wanted to experience right now.

"Come on. There is a nice little beach at the end of the path..."

"The path where a sign says that we aren't allowed to take it because it's dangerous? Hmm." Jane made a pout. She hadn't forgotten yet about Kokkini. "Is the cliff eroding too around here? What on Earth is this country?"

Maura didn't miss her sarcasm. She winked at Jane who gladly followed her friend through the small path that walked the length of the sea. Her curiosity had won over the rest. One more time.

Oia didn't have any beach, it was way too high on the Caldera. Hotels had infinity pools and if tourists wanted to feel the heat of the sand under their bare feet then they tended to go to Kamari or Perissa, both towns located on the other side of the island.

As expected, the 'beach' turned out to be a few very flat rocks that brushed the Aegan sea. There was no sand, no chaise-longue either and even less a couple of bars susceptible to suggest them a drink while sunbathing. Yet Jane immediately loved it. The place wasn't touristic.

Actually, there was nobody whatsoever and it fitted the natural landscape beautifully. She took her clothes off – winked at Maura – then rushed into the warm waters. Needless to say that she didn't leave the hotel anymore without wearing her bikini. The sea was peaceful and the waters warm; it wasn't windy.

"C'mon, Maura! Join me in!"

Maura had remained on the rock until now and if she shook her head at Jane at first, she finally ended up giving in. She wasn't good at this game anyway. She would have done anything to make Jane happy. She undressed and stepped into the waters carefully unlike Jane who had loudly rushed in.

"Maybe it's actually worth the zillion stairs. We have a private beach for ourselves... Isn't that awesome?"

Maura was about to nod when she slid on a rock covered of seaweed and lost her balance. She instinctively stretched her arms to grab the first thing which turned out to be Jane. Sadly, the gesture took Jane by surprise and she lost her balance as well, landing on top of Maura. The weight dragged them both under the water.

They reached the bottom only to come back to the surface within a couple of seconds. In each other's arms. Breathless.

"Well, _efkharisto*_, Maura! Is this what friendship means to you? Taking me down with you?" Jane's laughter wouldn't stop. The situation was rather funny, she had to admit it. She ran a hand through her now soaked wet hair and shook her head at her friend who looked mortified. "You okay?"

"Yes... I... I slid...?" Maura was about to motion the rocks down in the waters when she realized that she still had her arms around Jane's neck while she, Jane, hadn't let go of her waist.

Her silence turned out to be loud, too loud to be ignored. Jane's smile froze as she locked her eyes with her friend's. She swallowed hard.

How long did it last? A second? Two minutes? An eternity in Jane and Maura's life; an eternity of doubts and confusion. They didn't even feel the water that brushed their respective bodies nor the sun that warmed up their shoulders.

Everything had ceased to exist the moment they had locked their eyes, the moment they had realized how close they were; how ambiguous and suggestive their position was.

Voices rose somewhere on their left. It came from the path. Back to reality.

They immediately took their distance with each other as a group of five young tourists arrived on the path and settled on the rocks to enjoy a nice moment on the small beach.

...

"Gosh... This isn't just coffee, this is caffeine orgasm. I'm gonna miss it so bad when we're back to Boston..." Jane put down her coffee cup and rolled her eyes in a very theatrical way.

They had remained on the small beach until their bikinis had dried but hadn't said the slightest word. It is only when they had decided to have lunch at one of the taverns in Ammoudi that a semblance of life had wrapped them up again with a delicate logic. Was there anything to say, anyway? Not really.

"Be careful though, Jane. This coffee is a lot stronger than your regular drink in the US. There is a lot more caffeine in it. It might trouble your sleep. You should order a deca."

Of course Jane welcomed Maura's wise words with a snort. She wouldn't let her friend win this battle. She made a vague gesture of the hand to sweep the comment away then she picked the small brownie the waitress had brought along their drinks.

"I have Italian blood in me. Caffeine can't go wrong. Never. Nor can these _papoutsakia*_. Do you think it's okay if I order some more?"

"But you just had dessert! How can you be craving for eggplants again?" The least Maura could say was that Jane really did well with Greek dishes. "I am actually surprised to see that you haven't ordered any kebab yet. This is a lot closer to your kind of food than fresh vegetable and seafood."

Jane discreetly waved at the waitress and focused on the sentence that she was about make in Greek. Were they Greek restaurants in Boston? She definitely had to check it when they would go back home in two weeks. The young employee took her order, highly amused by Maura's look of complete despair.

"A kebab? Excellent idea. This is tonight's dinner. Maria told me the best ones were on the square of the bus station. A small cafeteria... Right at the corner and opposite the street to that supermarket we went to yesterday. Best. Kebabs. In. Town. Maria's one to trust, I can feel it."

Entertained, Maura shook her head in disbelief. She wasn't stupid though. Jane's extravagant behavior was just a façade to hide better the heavy discomfort stirred up by the incident that had happened earlier on the beach in the morning.

But since she, Maura, wasn't really eager to face it herself then she gladly welcomed her friend's subterfuge. Cowardice could be so comforting at times. Too much, actually.

...

Ti kanis: How are you?

Kala Efkharisto: Fine, thank you

Efkharisto: Thank you

Papoutsakia: Greek stuffed eggplant recipe (it means 'little shoes' in Greek)


	9. Live From Santorini

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the messages and reviews, they are much appreciated.**

**...**

_**"Live your life to the fullest and don't give a damn about what others might think." Angela Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter Nine – Live From Santorini**

Maura took a deep breath and stared straight in front of her. The connection hadn't been made yet and the screen was still dark enough to reflect the blue ribbon in her back. She could see the blurry figure of a sailing boat somewhere near the volcano and the sun that seemed to embrace of its golden shades the transparent waters.

"What are you doing? Give me back my mug of coffee."

Maura shook her head at Jane. Her friend had just pressed the button to make the call and the peculiar Skype music had suddenly filled the air, sweeping away the quietness of the afternoon at the hotel.

"I don't steal it from you. I just make sure that they won't see it, Jane. Nobody needs to check what kind of drink you are having."

"Oh, boy... Who do you think you are? Martin Scorcese? It's just a Skype stuff, Maura. Not the next big movie that's gonna bring a revolution to cinema!"

Maura wasn't convinced and she didn't try to hide it the slightest bit. As she had stubbornly planned, she put down Jane's mug on the left side of the laptop. It was not out of reach yet the angle was such that the webcam would not catch it either. She was about to add something when Angela appeared on the screen.

Or better said, Angela and half of the BPD.

"The hell?!" Jane squinted her eyes at the scene.

She hadn't expected to talk to her colleagues apart from Frost and Korsak if they happened to be around. Even Susie was here. The only thing missing was popcorn for what looked like to be the Bostonian event of the week.

"Jane Clementine Rizzoli! Just because you are on the other side of the planet doesn't mean that you have to be so impolite. Watch your language, young lady!"

Of course. Even when she was in Greece, her mother had to find a way to humiliate her in front of her colleagues. The anger in her eyes pushed one third of the crowd to leave. At least she hadn't lost her reflexes and still could scare the crap out of some rookies.

"Good morning, Angela. Sergeant Korsak, Detective Frost... Susie." Maura's smile was such that her facial muscles hurt. "How are you?"

Pointless question. Maura had hoped that it would make her sound casual but the moment the words hit the air, she realized that they betrayed her latent nervousness.

It was nobody's fault but hers. Even if they had had a pleasant lunch in Ammoudi, the blurry incident that had happened earlier in the morning when she had joined Jane in the water was still heavily weighing on her conscience and she didn't want anyone to notice it.

"We're fine. Nice tan, Maura. By the way, Jo Friday and Bass are doing okay. They seem to really like each other, you know. They spend a lot of time together and Bass has been a glutton these past few days."

If the news warmed up Maura's heart, the detail Angela gave about her tortoise slightly bruised her ego. Since when did Bass turn into a glutton while he usually was so picky when she was around to feed him?

She knew that it wasn't the kind of information that she was supposed to take personally but she actually did.

"Ha!" If Maura was taken aback, Jane didn't seem to be touched by such detail at all. She rolled her eyes in a theatrical way and showed her mother a dozen of mosquito bites on her arms. "Well... Here we're surrounded by giant mosquitos, abandoned cats and bath-towel-eater donkeys."

Of course the very end of her statement caused her mother and colleagues to frown with great confusion. Maura, however, simply snorted. Perhaps she just had to do like Jane. Perhaps she just had to go on and put whatever was bothering her in a very tiny corner of her head. Then she would stop thinking about it and life would be easy again.

"If Jane has quickly adapted to the language and the culture, she still faces issues when it comes to animals. I cannot say that she has been very pet friendly since we have arrived to Santorini."

Even a tragedian would have not gasped the way Jane did, not even on her death bed. Falsely offended, Jane squinted her eyes at her friend and grabbed back her mug just to go on her nerves. She took a long sip of her coffee then made sure to leave the drink right by her side where everyone at the BPD would be able to admire it.

"This isn't true at all! Maura's a big liar. Apart from the mosquitos that are like little vampires, I don't wish any bad to any donkey or whatever. And 'pets'? Really, Maura? That's how you call them? I don't know any donkey pet that eats bath towels. Pets, my ass."

"Jane!"

Jane raised her arms in the air to apologize for the second time in a row to her mother. She didn't mean to sound too familiar, it just came up by itself. She didn't even talk this way when she was alone with Maura. Most of the time, she was very polite. Why did it have to happen when she conversed with her mother?

"Long story short... The donkey was big."

Nobody missed the moan of despair that escaped Maura's lips before she buried her face in her hands to stiffle her complete consternation.

Jane's stubbornness would never get old. Absolutely never. It was pushed to the extreme but the truth was that Maura had to admit she actually liked it. It wouldn't be Jane if her friend weren't stubborn. It would not be the Jane she knew, the Jane she loved.

This very last thought caused her heart to beat faster. Eager to get rid of the latent panic that was asking for nothing but to spread on her mind, Maura looked for an escape and stared at her employee.

"Is everything going alright at the office, Susie? Anything I should know about? By the way, have the new incubators been delivered?"

Maura didn't really care but she felt the urge to focus on something a little bit less personal, something that allowed her to take some distance with Jane. She would only win a few seconds thanks to this subterfuge but it was still better than nothing. She politely nodded at her employee yet barely listened to the answer. Her very own trick didn't work.

"Oh, shi-..."

It was really not their day to be polite. The curse passed Maura's lips the second her arm hit Jane's mug and she spilled half of the drink on the table. She immediately stood up – apologized to their interlocutors for her verbal mishap – then hurried inside their studio to grab a kitchen towel.

Susie took advantage of it to excuse herself as well and suddenly Jane found herself in a face-to-face with her mother, the face-to-face she had expected when she and her mother had decided to call each other on Skype.

"You'd love it here, ma'. It's beautiful and people are so nice... There's this mediterranean vibe a bit like in Italy but both countries are completely different and..."

"Jane. What's going on?"

Her mother's voice not only interrupted her but also took her aback. A bit lost, Jane cast a glance around her to make sure that she hadn't missed something her mother would be alluding to then shook her head with confusion. She could hear Maura cursing in the background, opening and closing cabinets looking for a kitchen towel. Apparently, they didn't have any.

"What do you mean?"

The smile that began to play on Angela's lips was not new. Jane had often seen it. Her mother always reacted the same way when she stated something that she saw as being obvious. A sort of 'don't try to fool me' smile.

Except this time, Jane had honestly no idea what she was alluding to. The matriarch didn't look angry nor worried but she carried in her eyes the sparkle of people who know more than what they want to say out loud, than what they do think has to be said out loud.

"I couldn't find any kitchen towel with your habit of not putting things back in their right place so I took these tissues out of your beach bag. I hope you don't mind."

Without knowing it, Maura stormed in and made the most awkward seconds of Jane's life collapse. The silence between her and her mother had not lasted very long but it had been loud, very loud. As a matter of fact, she still could hear its echo in the distance.

She cast a glance at Maura almost wondering what she was doing here. Whatever had happened with her mother – all these untold things that were so loud – had taken her a thousand miles away from Santorini before sending her back to the island without any warning. The lack of transition was confusing.

Jane gave Maura a reassuring smile. Of course, she didn't mind. It was a detail, a very insignificant one. Why did Maura even feel the urge to apologize and explain herself? She hadn't done anything wrong. She did know that she could check into Jane's bag. There was nothing in it that she wasn't supposed to see.

"It's okay."

Angela cleared her voice and put thus an abrupt end to the look between her daughter and her friend. Suddenly looking for a semblance of intimacy, the matriarch bent over to come closer to the computer and lowered her voice. Something had changed in her attitude. Seriousness had slid on her face. She wasn't joking anymore.

"I am glad to see that you're enjoying your vacations in Greece, girls. Now do me a favor... Live your life to the fullest and don't give a damn about what people might think. You both know I love you, right? I love you no matter what... Don't forget that."

A bit disarmed, Jane and Maura nodded at the matriarch. Angela hadn't necessarily been very subtle yet they weren't sure themselves to understand what she really meant; why she suddenly adopted such a philosophical tone.

Jane swallowed hard as a scenario she didn't even want to think about hit her mind. Pushing her fears aside, she locked her eyes with her mother's and let the words come out.

"Are you healthy, ma'? You haven't been diagnosed or... Whatever... Have you? Your speech sounds a bit too 'carpe diem' for me, right now. You're not dying, are you?"

Angela burst out laughing. She rolled her eyes – not hiding her despair the slightest bit – then shook her head at her daughter.

"Of course not! I'm fine, I'm perfectly fine. However, sometimes I wonder how someone like you managed to become a detective. Don't take it bad, Janie, but you can be so blind when you want to."


	10. i'saste kalesme'ni ston ga'mos mas

**Author's note: Thank you very much for the messages and reviews... And for your Rizzles patience that will be rewarded very, very soon now.**

**...**

_**"As much as you certainly don't share her wisdom, you do look like Athena." Maura Isles.**_

**Chapter Ten – i'saste kalesme'ni ston ga'mos mas***

The moment Jane found herself alone in the fitting room, her life stopped and she took her time to analyze every single thing that had happened to her since she and Maura had arrived in Greece. She wasn't in the mood for introspection but the Skype session with her mother the day before had caused a big wave of discomfort to spread over her mind and she didn't know what to think anymore.

She nonetheless started getting undressed yet rather absentmindedly. The music that was playing in the background rocked her thoughts and accompanied her furtive movements in a very random way.

The cotton of her short pants brushed her ankles before landing by her feet. She pushed the piece of clothing in a corner, grabbed the dress and raised an eyebrow at it. Oddest personal choice she had ever made.

She had stepped into the small shop certain that she would try on one of their linen pants but for a reason that she had a hard time to understand, she had instantly grabbed a dress instead. Maura's quiet smile before such a choice had been worth a thousand words. A sparkle of delight had lit up her hazel eyes but she hadn't said anything.

She had let Jane do then she had gone herself for a dress as well.

Why had her mother had to be so mysterious? The question rose in Jane's blurry head for the umpteenth time as she adjusted the dress and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Why had she said that? Everything had gone smoothly then all of a sudden Angela had had to come up with a somehow mysterious speech about tolerance and love. It did not make sense whatsoever and it had actually obstructed the smooth and peaceful days Jane was having in Greece.

"Dammit."

She barely had time to curse between her clentched teeth. Someone knocked on the wall next to her very basic fitting room.

"Jane, are you alright? You have been in there for the last twenty-five minutes already..." Maura's voice betrayed an ounce of timidity and uncertainty. "Are you... I mean, can I see it?"

They had spent a nice evening after the Skype connection. Just as planned, Jane had taken Maura to have a kebab by the main square of Oia. They had sat at the counter and observed the ballet of buses coming and going while savoring their sandwiches. After a short walk through the quiet streets, they had headed back to the hotel and it was when Oula had invited them to the wedding.

A completely unexpected event that yet they hadn't been able to turn down. As a matter of fact, the invitation had really touched them. Oula barely knew them yet she had decided to invite them to her cousin's wedding. Not for the ceremony but for the party that would take place afterward in the evening on a small square of Oia.

There would be a buffet and local musicians. It was a Greek wedding, a traditional one. She had assumed that Jane and Maura might be interested in seeing how the Greeks celebrated a union like the one of her cousin. Fair idea, adorable if Jane had to be honest. She was rather curious to learn a bit more about the hellenistic culture.

"Ahem yeah... I mean, sure. I'm sorry."

The heavy curtain made a very loud noise as Maura pulled on it to step into the small fitting room. She didn't mock Jane. As a matter of fact, Maura never mocked her, unlike others, when she tried to be a bit more feminine. It was a nice little change. Growing up with brothers only and working in a male environment had its disadvantages.

"You look very, very pretty." Maura made a step towards Jane and positioned herself just behind her so she could have a better view over the piece of clothing. "No... Actually you aren't pretty but gorgeous. I wasn't too sure about a white one but it beautifully contrasts with your olive skin. You almost look Greek... Excellent choice."

The compliment made Jane blush. She tried to run a hand through her hair but got stuck midway as she realized that she was wearing it in a ponytail. Doing her best to avoid Maura's look on her, she focused on the piece of clothing and properly observed it this time. She had been too lost in her thoughts until now to do it.

It was one of these typical Grecian dresses that could be found in every single shop on the island: empire waist, ankle-length, a light tissue embracing her curves with grace.

"What about you? I didn't see yours." Jane nodded at nobody but herself then looked at her friend.

She would buy it. Chances were that she would not wear it ever again after the wedding but she had to admit that she found it pretty and that it suited her. Besides, she had only packed very casual clothes. She hadn't assumed that they would attend a wedding at some point during their vacations.

"I will buy the knee-length emerald green one. It seems to be a good combination with yours: we will be wearing the same style of dress but not the exact same one either. There is nothing worse than a couple who is too match-y. It is one major faux-pas!"

The words passed Maura's lips before she had a chance to realize what she had just said. They hit the air with an insolent eloquence and immediately caused her cheeks to turn red like a brick.

The remark had had its very own little effect on Jane as well who seemed to be on the verge of passing out.

"Isn't it... Isn't it too dressy?" Jane knew that it wasn't as she had seen women wearing this kind of dress on the streets of Oia by day but she hadn't found any other way to escape Maura's verbal mishap.

"No, not at all." Relief began to appear on Maura's face. She would never thank Jane enough for not paying attention to what she had just said. "You will see that many women will be wearing the same kind of dress, actually... It ahem... You know what? As much as you certainly don't share her wisdom, you do look like Athena in it... A modern version of her... You have her presence, her bearing."

Yes Maura had just compared Jane to a goddess but at least this time she had done it with subtlety and none of them felt embarrassed by the idea. As long as she didn't assimilate them to a couple again, everything would go smoothly.

"You won't tell anyone about this dress, right?" If she knew that her friend wouldn't mock her, Jane had doubts about Maura's photography intentions. She squinted her eyes at her in the mirror and waited for a reply. In vain. Her friend's silence turned out to be a giveaway. She gasped, horrified. "Maura!"

...

For the first time since they had arrived in Santorini, they had decided to have a quiet afternoon and not do much before the wedding party.

Once done with the wedding shopping, they had walked through the streets of Oia before coming back to the hotel to enjoy the infinity pool that, one more time, turned out to be empty.

How come tourists didn't take advantage of it? Most of them seemed to prefer a sunbath from the chaise-longue on their private terraces instead. It was strange but Maura had to admit that she highly enjoyed their singular choice. At least it meant that she didn't have to stress about the potential bacteria present in the swimming-pool.

She stepped out of the waters and walked to her chaise-longue next to a sleeping Jane only to realize that she had forgotten to take her book along. Not bothering to wrap herself in one of the large bath towels of the hotel, Maura grabbed the key to their studio and headed in her bikini to the top floor.

The sun was too hot for her to walk barefoot. She had put on her sandals and enjoyed the way thousands of water drops warmly slid on her skin, going from her nape down to her lower back before embracing the intimate path that led to her inner thighs.

She stepped into the studio and barely held back a moan of despair. Jane really was a messy person. Her clothes lay haphazardly all around – on top of the couch, on the small kitchen table, on the banister that led to the mezzanine – while her different items littered the stairs and the floor. She had this habit to simply put down whatever she had in hand the moment she didn't want it anymore, no matter it didn't belong to the room she was in.

And if this kind of attitude was just fine at her place, it was a very different story in a studio that she shared with a third party. A very organized third party.

Maura grabbed a dozen of items that belonged to the bathroom and walked upstairs to the room. Every day she had to clean for Jane. It was a nightmare.

She walked into the bathroom and proceeded to put the body lotions and the hairbrush on the counter with her usual meticulousness but very soon the lack of sun in the room bothered her. Her bikini felt damp and cold against her skin. Why not putting on a dry one since she was back to their studio, after all? She grabbed the first one she found and got undressed.

"Shit, I'm sorry!"

Jane's voice in her back startled her. Yet instead of hiding herself, Maura turned around to face her friend which caused Jane to immediately cover her eyes and walk backwards only to hit the edge of the bed. The unexpected contact made her lose her balance. She fell down, rather heavily.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" Maura rushed to her friend and helped her to sit up. She feverishly checked Jane's arms as well as her forehead. She wasn't bleeding and didn't look hurt. "Are you in pain?"

"Gosh Maura... Will you please put something on? You're naked!" Jane managed to take her distance from Maura and stood up making sure to avoid looking at her friend. How come she was the one who felt embarrassed while she had clothes on? "I thought you were in the laundry room, I'm sorry. I didn't want to walk in on you."

Maura rolled her eyes but her so-called annoyance didn't fool anyone. The smirk that was playing on her lips was too revealing for that. Jane's reaction was highly entertaining. She put a dry bikini on and shook her head at her friend the moment she finally dared to look at her again.

"You know, Jane... I might start taking it badly and personal if you keep on being so afraid of my body."

Jane snorted and desperately looked all around to find a good excuse to the whole thing. She stopped on the small opened window that overlooked the street. She pointed it.

"The donkeys could have seen you! I'm sure it's not something the Greeks would approve."

...

i'saste kalesme'ni ston ga'mos mas: you are invited to our wedding


	11. Nazars and Wives

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews, messages and suggestions.**

**...**

_**"I wonder if this evil eye thing will work once in Boston and if it will keep all the assholes at bay." Jane Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter Eleven – Nazars and Wives**

"You had promised me a sirtaki." Maura let herself fall down on her chair and grabbed her glass full of fresh water. She was beyond thirsty. The wedding celebration was in full swing and she hadn't stopped dancing for the past hour in spite of the rather hot evening. "Or any other dance. You just have to follow the steps, it isn't very complicated."

Jane cast a glance at the improvised dancefloor in a corner of the square and pursed her lips. The least she could say was that she wasn't really convinced. She hadn't dared to join them yet.

Unlike Maura, she had preferred to remain on her seat and watch the dancers, enjoy the music. Thankfully the old woman who had decided to sit next to her to talk to her in Greece was finally gone and she now could stop nodding politely at her, not understanding a word of what she was saying.

The blue beads of the small bracelet rolled under her fingers. She looked down at the jewel that they had been given when they had arrived. A nazar. Maura had explained her that it was a sort of amulet supposed to repel the evil eye.

It was very popular in Greece as well as in many Mediterranean countries and that was the reason why she had seen the blue eye-like symbol in so many shops of Santorini.

"I wonder if this evil eye thing will work once in Boston and if it will keep all the assholes at bay." She winked at Maura then grabbed a tiny piece of chicken that the waitress from the restaurant nearby had just brought to their table. "This kebab stuff is good."

The small public square had been transformed into an open air restaurant – multicolored paper lanterns hanging in the trees above their heads – while local musicians had settled on the very far end to play. intrigued by the music, tourists stopped by from to time to take pictures, some even stayed a bit longer to enjoy the party. It was nice.

Jane and Maura had been welcomed very warmly. They had congratulated the newly weds before sitting at a table a bit further from the families. Oula had been nice enough to invite them but they didn't want to impose themselves either.

"Alright, come and dance with me. Drop this piece of chicken and stand up." Maura grabbed her friend's hand to force her to abandon the comfort zone of the table. "This dance is rather slow, you should be able to follow the steps without any problem."

Jane saw the piece of chicken disappear from her hands as Maura grabbed it to eat it. She gasped. One simply did not steal food from Jane Rizzoli. Yet she didn't protest.

As a matter of fact, she even obliged and stood up to follow her friend towards the musicians.

Oula's family was very friendly and Jane didn't have time to register the first steps that someone had already grabbed her hand to make sure that she would join the circle formed by the dancers. They applauded her. They seemed really delighted to share this special day with foreigners. It was unexpected and extremely sweet.

"Good! Good!"

Jane looked up to see who had talked to her. The drunk uncle. Of course, she had got the drunk uncle. A sixty-year-old man in sweat who, by the way he kept on winking at her, was definitely trying to forget his divorce once and for all and had decided that she would be his very next adventure.

Jane forcefully smiled at him then turned her head around to look at Maura on her right. A graceful grin lit up her eyes and echoed her laughter while rebel locks of blond hair had found an escape from her bun and were dancing their very own ballet in the light breeze of the summer evening. Jane lost herself in the contemplation of her friend. Her poise was such that she could have easily been mistaken for a Greek if it weren't for her fair complexion.

"Dammit, Maura... You took Greek dance lessons or what?"

Her laugh turned out to be mesmerizing. It was as intoxicating as wine. She was hot and sweat drops slid on her nape in a tantalizing way.

Jane lost herself in the contemplation of the shiny skin before coming back to reality and forcing herself to look at her friend in the eyes.

"No... But Kostos taught me a few dances."

Jane's smile froze. She hadn't forgotten about him but had actually hoped that he now belonged to the past. They hadn't seen him since their evening in Kamari and she couldn't say that she missed him. On the contrary.

"He took you to the movies, he taught you Greek dances... Any other first time you had with him that I should be aware of?"

It was coky but Jane hadn't been able to hold back the words. She regretted them and felt incredibly guilty but a surge of ego pushed her to defy Maura's look on her. Her chin up, Jane forced a smile at her friend then waited for a reply.

The reply never came, though. Oula showed up and murmured something to Maura's ear before dragging her outside the dance circle much to Jane's dismay.

"Wait! Where are you going..." Someone grabbed her available hand right away, preventing her from following Oula and Maura. A look on her left reminded her that her brand new suitor was still here. Jane sighed. "My luck."

Hard to say that Maura was herself very thrilled to leave Jane behind but a guest had apparently spread her ankle and Oula had asked her to check it as it was a bit late to wake up one of the medical doctors of Oia for such a minor injury.

"Do you have a first-aid kit? I have absolutely nothing myself..." Almost apologizing for her lack of material, Maura squatted in front of a young girl and checked out the swollen ankle. The bone wasn't broken, slightly bruised. "Is it possible to have an ice pack and some tape?"

Oula nodded immediately and rushed to the restaurant that was waiter-catering the wedding. They probably had what Maura needed. The supermarket at the corner of the street was still open. The owner was eager to help as well.

"She missed a step out there."

A woman showed Maura a small stair on the other side of the square. As much as she had addressed Maura in English, her accent was not a Greek one. Her curiosity piqued, Maura squinted her eyes at her and let a bright smile play on her lips as an idea formed in her head.

"Wouldn't you be Italian?"

The woman burst out laughing.

"Even years in Greece aren't enough to erase my accent, right? I come from Pisa but I've been living in Santorini since 2001. My name's Manuela. Nice to meet you."

Oula came back with the ice pack and the tape. Maura politely thanked her then proceeded to immobilize the ankle of the unlucky teenager.

It was a gesture that she hadn't done since college but – conscious that many gazes were turned to her – she applied herself to make sure that her reputation wouldn't be reduced to nothing within a second. Nobody knew that she was a medical examiner, not even Oula. She had simply stated that she was a medical doctor. Her field of specialization was too delicate to be alluded to, especially during a wedding. It wasn't very appropriate to say the least.

"Pisa? What a beautiful city! What are you doing here in Greece?"

Once done with the young girl's ankle and after making sure that she was reassured, Maura stood back up and smiled at Manuela. She hadn't expected to see Italians at the table of the Greek bride.

"I came for the holidays and... One thing leading to another... I never left. Now I own a small hotel down the street out there."

Maura looked in the direction Manual was showing her. She had always admired and envied people who dared to make such drastic changes in their life. She lacked herself the courage it took for it. How many times had she elaborated an identical scenario in her head just to see it swept away by the harshness of a reality that reminded her she couldn't do it?

"Your wife is looking for you." Manuela mistook Maura's puzzled face. She pointed out Jane who was timidly looking from right to left by the musicians and laughed. "Yes, the Greeks are very religious and rather conservative people but love is love and they can accept it too."

Maura didn't dare to say anything. Oula had nodded to confirm Manuela's words and something told her that if the whole table had spoken English then every single guest would have joined in. It wasn't something new, though. Such situation had already happened to her and Jane in the past but for whatever reason, it reached her differently that night.

Extremely troubled by Manuela's words, she walked to Jane and forced a smile to play on her lips. Her mouth was dry, she was shaking and didn't feel very fine. Fresh air. She needed fresh air. All of a sudden, the frenzy of the party made her feel very dizzy.

"There is a little fountain behind the trees, let's go there."

A very hot and thirsty Jane gladly welcomed the suggestion. She had not assumed that ten minutes of Greek dancing equaled to an hour of cardio. She was breathless and exhausted.

They passed a row of pine trees and let the quiet darkness of the evening swallow them without any warning. The music had turned into a very delicate murmur, a soft one. The contrast with the square where the party was in full swing was a bit sharp.

"I lost my youth to this dance! Where have you been? I saw Oula come to you then the next thing I know... You had disappeared."

A delicate veil seemed to have covered Maura's eyes. She didn't look afraid nor worried but simply lost in her thoughts, at the mercy of confusing inner wonders.

"A girl sprained her ankle. I taped it." Even her voice sounded neutral, deprived of any feeling. After long seconds of a confusing hesitation, she blinked and abandoned the contemplation of the ground for Jane's dark eyes. "Have you..."

It happened quickly. Awkwardly. Sweetly. Maura made a step towards Jane – the required one to close the distance with her – then captured her lips in a tentative kiss. A very unexpected one.

The contact burned, the heat of their flesh finding a singular echo in the smoothness of their lips. Then, as furtively as she had approached, Maura broke apart and made a step backwards again. She needed the distance.

Reality was yelling at her that she couldn't remain so close to her friend. Not after what she had just done.

Yet she didn't run away either. She remained by a tree instead - taken aback by her very own boldness - and found the insolent courage to lock her eyes with Jane's. The moment her voice rose in the air, her whisper betrayed the confusion going on in her head.

"I'm sorry..."


	12. I Wish

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews.**

**...**

_**"I really don't think that this is something the Greek donkeys would approve of." Maura Isles.**_

**Chapter Twelve – I Wish**

The subtlety of the gesture woke her up. Jane's hand slid on her lower stomach like a feather caress, an imperceptible touch that made her shiver. It stirred up her senses so much that her dreams began to fade away and she opened her eyes only to realize that her very own arm was wrapped around her friend's waist. Jane was peacefully sleeping on her side of the bed.

Naked.

Too afraid to succumb to an obvious panic the moment she would wake up, Maura tried to focus on delicate details like the way her friend's lips were slightly parted or the tan of her bikini that contrasted with the rest of her darker skin. She hadn't forgotten what had happened the night before but its frenzy had now melted into these intricate shapes of reality and she didn't know anything anymore.

Why she had kissed Jane. Why Jane had responded to her kiss by kissing her anew. Why they had come back to the hotel lost in the exhilaration of this novelty they weren't sure to understand themselves. Why they hadn't stopped it.

They had made love with an odd sweetness, a delicate passion of some sort. It had been slow yet rather intense. Then, rocked by the silence of the night and full of a tantalizing satisfaction, they had fallen asleep in each other's arms.

End of the story. End of the parenthesis.

Unless it was just the beginning, actually. But the beginning of what? Maura knew Jane. She knew that the moment she would open her eyes, her friend's reaction would probably not be as peaceful as hers. She wouldn't take it for whatever this might be.

Yet what was it supposed to be? A mistake? Maura rolled on her back. She put an arm behind her head and let a quiet sigh pass her lips.

She hoped that it wouldn't change anything between the two of them but such a genuine thought didn't echo the beats of her heart very well. She felt nervous, insecure. She couldn't lose Jane, as a friend or whatever she might be for her.

She couldn't let this happen.

The delicate breeze of the morning made her shiver. They had let the small window that overlooked the street opened. The louvered shutter was down but the wind nonetheless managed to pierce through the small interstices.

Now a bit cold, Maura scanned her surroundings looking for a piece of clothing. Her eyes stopped on one of Jane's shirts abandoned on the small table, just by the window. It wasn't out of reach. All of her very own clothes were downstairs in the closet.

Eager to not wake up Jane, Maura rolled on her side with a lot of care and stretched out her arm to grab the shirt. If she got up, chances were that her acolyte would wake up. She had a very light sleep. If the mattress moved too much under Maura's weight, the awkwardness of their 'morning after' would occur way before than planned.

Her fingertips brushed the piece of clothing. A couple more inches and she was there. Maura clenched her teeth under the effort and squinted her eyes at the shirt. Though her victory didn't last long.

The moment she grabbed Jane's cotton top, her body relaxed and the awkward position she had been in caused her to lose her balance. She rolled out of bed then loudly fell down on the floor.

Very loudly.

Her fall startled Jane who sat up within a second and looked all around her, trying desperately to register what had just happened in spite of her latent sleepy state.

"Earthquake?!"

Realizing that she was actually naked, Jane grabbed the blanket to cover her chest but found resistance coming from her left. She pulled on it. In vain. She frowned.

"The hell?"

Now a bit more awake, she turned her head around and watched how a heavily blushing Maura appeared from the floor. She was holding a shirt in front of her while her feet were entangled to the blanket.

"Good... Good morning...?" Of all the 'morning after' Maura had lived, this one had to be the most awkward one. She slipped back into bed after a little fight with the blanket and put the shirt on trying to make sure to avoid Jane's eyes. She was mortified. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

Jane ran a hand through her hair. She had a lot to process right now. As reality was settling in her head only to spread there an ocean of confusion, she sat up and leaned against the wall; a hand tightly clutched to the blanket.

"It's ok." She cleared her hoarse voice and swallowed hard. "I mean I guess."

What was okay? The fact Maura had woken her up or the fact they had slept together? And then the silence. A very long and heavy one. At the mercy of a palpable fear, Jane and Maura both stared straight in front of them not daring to move an inch; not daring to speak either. Yet someone had to say something. They could not spend the rest of their life in this bed hoping that the awkardness of the moment would go away by itself.

"So you're cold?" Jane rolled her eyes before her very own question. If this wasn't the lamest line in the whole history of human relationships then she didn't know anymore. "It's ok, you can keep the shirt on."

Didn't it sound a bit pervy? She winced in pain, in mental pain. Yet she had to admit that she was kind of glad that - for once - the clumsiness didn't come from her. She wasn't the one who had fallen out of bed. Compared to many situations she had lived in the past, she had to say that she was improving a lot and it was comforting.

A bit less for Maura though.

"Aren't you? The wind is chilly, this morning." Still focused on this invisible point in front of her, Maura nonetheless forced a smile on her lips. Her attempt to sound casual had obviously failed but she had reached such level of self-humiliation anyway that she couldn't care less anymore. "I guess there's my... My dress... Next to you...?"

Her dress and her bra. Lord knows where the rest of her underwear actually was. The room was a mess and seemed to carry the remains of the frenzy of the previous night. Such nice reminder in case one of them had actually forgotten or was more than eager to give into denial.

"Indeed. It is." On these words, Jane let herself fall back in bed. Her body disappeared under the blanket and she only stopped when it reached her upper neck. "Oh boy."

Maura didn't pay attention to the moan – she had always known that it would show up at some point – but to the way Jane's voice broke. She wasn't doing okay anymore. Not at all. Feeling suddenly very concerned, Maura turned around and dared a look at her friend. Jane had buried her face in her hands.

"It isn't the end of the world, you know."

At least Maura's comment got Jane to react. She poked an eye through one of her hands and scoffed in this theatrical way that Maura loved so much. Except this time, she made sure to not smile at it. Something told her that Jane didn't need it.

"Well... Speak for you, Maura! I've never slept with women. I mean I never had... Until last night!" Yet the easiness with which Jane was now talking about it took her aback. She didn't want to pretend that nothing had happened, she was not that much of a coward, but why did their very first 'morning after' have to sound so domestic? "Even less with a fr-..."

The word 'friend' never passed her lips because she didn't find it fair. Maura had always been a lot more than just a friend and the fact that they had slept together wouldn't change anything to that.

Maybe their relation was kind of blurry now but Maura had certainly not ceased to hold this special place in her heart. On the contrary.

The intimacy they had shared had naturally strengthened the unique bond that already existed between the two of them.

"I don't... I don't really understand what's going on."

Jane's confession took them both aback. Not because of the words she had used - not because of the meaning of her sentence - but because she had dared to express herself out loud when she usually didn't. Opening up about feelings was something very foreign for her. Yet for whatever reason, it was exactly what she was now doing.

Against all expectations.

"Maybe there is nothing to understand... But everything to live."

Maura wouldn't have been able to say whether it was boldness or hope. Her voice was shaking too much and the words had come out by themselves before she had even had a chance to analyze them. The only thing she knew for sure was that she didn't regret them.

Jane finally stopped hiding behind her hands. In a very slow motion, she rolled on her side and let her eyes wander up till Maura's eyes. Something inside of her wanted nothing but to be convinced by her friend's words, by the sweetness and carefree attitude they carried. But her uncertainty was still strong and prevented all the rest from triumphing.

"You think so?"

Why did reality have to be so bare, so abrupt? In movies, the 'morning after' was always romantic. The sun usually shone and the protagonists were ecstatic. There was no questioning, no doubt about a sudden change of dynamic in their relationship. Life was so different from a movie. It had so little to do with all these romantic stories.

Maura shrugged. She had absolutely no idea what tomorrow was made of, what the future had in store for them. But if she put all these questions aside - questions to which she couldn't have an answer now - then the warm delicacy of the hopes her heart was beating for told her that she was right and that she should go for it; that they should give it a try.

"Well, by everything I mean... As long as the shutters are down, you know... Because... I really don't think that this is something the Greek donkeys would approve of."

Jane blinked. Had she heard it right?

"Really? Of all times, you choose this one to make a joke?" An incredulous laugh passed Jane's lips. "This is unbelievable and yet so you... I'd have known you'd come up with something like that. This is..."

This was exactly what Jane needed, as a matter of fact. The proof that nothing had really changed. It was Maura. Her Maura. Yes, something had shifted in their relationship and it left her overwhelmed but the truth was that she was not doing bad. Nothing had fallen apart. Somehow reassured, Jane let her fingers brush Maura's cheek with tenderness.

The touch made her smile.

Then as she locked her dark eyes with Maura's hazel ones, a warm sensation spread in her lower stomach. Something she hadn't felt in a very long while, something that made her feel alive. So alive.

At last.

Full of a self-confidence that she had never assumed to have, Jane leaned over and captured her friend's lips in a kiss that - unlike the evening before on the square by the trees - was anything but tentative.

Why trying to constantly analyze everything? Sometimes, it was good to let it go and start living.


	13. A Week

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the messages, reviews and suggestions (I will reply to the PMs tomorrow).**

**...**

_**"What if there's another earthquake and the Atlantis shows up again?" Jane Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter Thirteen – A Week**

"Maura...?"

The sound of Jane's voice – soft, full of a tenderness that she had never heard before – elicited a smile on her lips. But too playful to respond, Maura kept her eyes closed and let her friend try to properly wake her up.

Something soon hit her lips. Sadly, it wasn't the kiss that Maura had hoped for but a plastic straw. Her curiosity piqued, she finally gave in and opened an eye to check what kind of beverage Jane wanted her to drink.

"What is it?"

A mischievous sparkle started shining in Jane's eyes. Nothing challenging but it still made Maura laugh out loud. After spending the whole morning in bed, they had dragged themselves outside for a lazy day by the swimming-pool of the hotel. The lack of sleep plunged them in a sweet lethargy that neither of them really wanted to fight. Not just yet.

Subconsciously or not, it was their own way to keep alive the newly found tenderness of their relationship.

"Sex on the Beach, Greek version." The smirk that began to play on Maura's lips pushed Jane to roll her eyes. She was absolutely not offended by Maura's reaction but teasing her was the best passtime she had found so far. "Jeez! Do you ever think about anything else?!"

"It all depends on the kind of partner I have on the moment."

The remark was bold and Jane couldn't help blushing. She hurried to hide behind her Aviators and tied up her hair in a loose bun. She would never win against Maura at this game. Her apparent lack of experience with women hadn't really been an issue so far though. She didn't want to brag about it but Maura had just confirmed it. Implicitly.

"Have you ever..." Suddenly at the mercy of an obvious nervousness, Jane folded her legs then leaned her chin on top her knees. She wrapped her arms around her frame in a protective attempt and focused on the Aegean sea that spread a few terraces below. She swallowed hard. The question was burning her lips. It was a detail, nothing else. As a matter of fact, it was just curiosity. But she didn't dare to ask Maura about it. "Never mind."

She didn't know how to bring it up mostly because she wasn't sure that it was fair to ask. She had made it clear herself that she hadn't had any previous experience with women but Maura had remained quiet about her own background and now Jane didn't know what to think about it. It wouldn't change anything anyway. She was just wondering. Something – her instinct, maybe – told her that Maura hadn't really looked like a novice the night before.

And even less in the morning.

"You know that you can ask me anything, don't you?" Maura approached a hand from her friend and gently began to caress Jane's nape. A comforting gesture, she just hoped that it was relaxing enough. "I will never take one of your questions badly."

Her voice betrayed a blatant honesty. Jane didn't need the reminder. She knew that Maura wasn't lying here. She was always ready to answer her questions, no matter the subject; no matter it flirted with the limits of privacy that nobody should have crossed in the first place.

"Yeah, I know that. But it's really nothing. Nothing important. Forget it." Jane stood up and grabbed her jean shorts. She put them on then slid her feet in her sandals. "Anyway... I'm off for a little while if you don't mind. I'll be back in a few."

"Where are you going to?"

Concern rose in Maura's voice. She held back her straw hat on top of her head as a gust of wind blew a bit hard and she looked up at Jane who was already on her way out.

They hadn't planned on going anywhere and it was actually the very first time that Jane even felt the urge to take her distance with her since they had arrived. Such thought set off an alarm in Maura's head.

Was it because of the new stage they had reached in their relationship? Had she done something wrong, something that would cause Jane to need this unexpected distance? Of course Maura did not ask. She simply smiled at her friend even if it ached. She wasn't clingy, was she?

"I ahem... You know, just around. No big deal."

Completely disarmed and on the verge of panicking, Maura watched Jane lose herself in an ocean of very vague gestures before turning around and disappearing from her sight.

"Okay." Maura's whisper died in a whirl of uncertainty.

Her quiet state of mind would have not lasted very long.

...

Because of Jane's sudden desire of independency, the rest of the afternoon turned out to be rather stressful for Maura and if it weren't for the delicious cocktails of the hotel, she would have probably gone out to look for Jane in the streets of Oia. It was a small village, after all. It would have not taken her long to find her back. Unless she had gone to Thira. Maura bit her lower lip and frowned as such thought hit her.

"Are you ready? You can dress casually. I'm not taking you to any fancy place. It's just... It's just a quiet evening out. I swear."

Jane's words didn't reach Maura the slightest bit. Why was she, Jane, wearing a pair of ivory linen pants instead of her worn-out jean shorts if she hadn't planned anything fancy? Maura didn't buy it at all.

A bit grumpy before so many mysteries, she nonetheless grabbed her ankle-length skirt and put it on before adjusting her top and stepping out of the bathroom. She stopped by the door frame and put a hand on her hip the moment she locked her eyes with Jane's. Her pout was revealing - very revealing - of her latent mood.

"I hate surprises."

"Excellent because I don't like them either. Now if you could just put on some shoes and hurry up a bit, that'd be terrif'. Really..." Needless to say Jane didn't make any allusion to the enormous amount of Roman sandals Maura had brought with her to Santorini. "I know you don't like to be rushed but it's not like we have a choice right now."

Maura obliged.

She had no reason whatsoever to be awful with Jane, she knew it. It was just that Jane leaving for a large part of the afternoon without telling her about her plans had stirred up a wave of doubts she didn't know what to do of and it was scaring.

Everything was so new – their relationship, the timidity over a gesture of affection that oddly came up naturally in spite of everything – that it had turned her life upside down and her self-confidence was suffering from it. A lot.

Jane's warm hand on hers got a soothing effect. Somehow. Still extremely uncertain about a thousand things, Maura let Jane take her out of the hotel. As usual, the crowd of tourists was walking towards the end of the island to go and watch the sunset. The main street was packed and it was hard to make the slightest step.

"Ah, great. Fantastic." Jane ran a hand through her hair and clenched her teeth. They couldn't be running late or else her plan would fall apart and she would feel miserable for the rest of the night. Hmm. She did not have a choice. A bit worried, she turned to Maura and shrugged apologetically. "Don't let go of my hand, okay? Not until I tell you to do so."

Maura was about to ask for further details when Jane sped up her pace and started rushing through the crowd with more or less patience and politeness.

She was desperately pulling on Maura's hand, their respective skin brushing tourists' hips and backpacks a bit abruptly. Luckily it didn't last very long and a couple of minutes later, everything stopped.

"What is going on, Jane? I mean..." The rest of Maura's sentence died between her throat and her lips the moment she looked up at her friend and realized that they had just stepped on the terrace of one of the most prestigious restaurants of Oia. "What..."

As much as it didn't overlook the side of the sea that most tourists wanted to contemplate, it still had a full view over the Caldera and the volcano. It was gorgeous. A waiter took them to one of the rare tables by the edge of the terrace; the best one, actually. It was located in a corner that allowed both customers to share the same view while sitting next to each other whereas the other tables had a slightly restricted view over the cliffs.

"Dress casually? Really? Jane! This is one of the best restaurants of Oia... How did you manage to get a table for two? It takes weeks to get one."

"Not when the owner is Maria's brother-in-law." Jane winked at Maura but a surge of timidity soon wrapped her up nonetheless. She was beyond happy to see that her plan had got the expected effect. She pointed out the sea. "We made it just on time for the sunset."

A waiter brought them a bottle of wine and poured two glasses before handling them the menu. Maura quietly thanked him. She was too taken aback by the whole thing to be able to properly speak. Jane couldn't stop smiling. She was so proud of the effect her surprise had on Maura. And there was no Kostos around, this time. She focused on the sea and let a sigh pass her lips.

"What if there's an earthquake and the Atlantis shows up again?"

Jane's ridiculous yet rather entertaining question put a definitive end to Maura's state of near incredulity. She burst out laughing then shook her head at her friend. Her lover? Maybe it was time to actually see Jane through different eyes.

She discreetly grabbed her hand to hold it tightly but the words still wouldn't come out. She was touched, very touched. So Jane took advantage of it to resume her talk.

"It'll be seven days tomorrow. A week... We've arrived to Santorini a week ago so, you know, I just wanted to mark the occasion. And also because..." Jane's smile melted in the delicate pink of her cheeks. "It's our first evening, somehow."

She didn't need to add anything. Maura had understood what she was referring to and the sweetness of the attention was such that she didn't have words to express her feelings. So she simply leaned over instead and planted a rather suggestive kiss at the corner of Jane's mouth, their lips brushing with a quiet subtlety; a discretion Maura knew Jane would appreciate.

"_Efkharisto poli*_..."

...

Efkharisto poli: Thank you very much


	14. From Oia To Thira

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all your reviews; "M" rated scenes coming soon.**

**...**

_**"You are half-naked, Jane, so you can't come in." Maura Isles.**_

**Chapter Fourteen – From Oia To Thira**

Jane reluctantly looked at the path that Maura had joyfully taken and rolled her eyes. She couldn't stay where she was. She had to go on and catch back on Maura who had already reached the first curve a few steps ahead.

Her lack of enthusiasm did show – a lot – but she wanted to prove her lover that she actually could do it; that a grumpy Jane wasn't necessarily meant to remain grumpy. It was basic hiking, besides. The path they had to take was rather flat.

The only issue was that it was extremely narrow and that it overlooked the Caldera. If she happened to lose her balance then she plunged right into the Aegean sea that was 220 meters below. This wasn't something that she really wanted to experience. Not just yet.

"Are you sure there's no snake? I just saw a lizzard. You know I hate snakes."

Maura burst out laughing. She had taken this path more times than she could remember. As a matter of fact, she would have been able to go from Oia to Thira by the coast with her eyes closed. However, she hadn't assumed that Jane would show so much apprehension before a hiking trail. She patiently walked back to her lover and grabbed her hand.

"We will do just fine." Her tone of voice was firm, comforting. "I have antivenom, anyway."

This was not the kind of remark Jane had hoped to hear. Wondering why she had suggested Maura that they could spend the day in Thira, she tried to put her fears aside and started walking just behind Miss Indiana Jones who, as usual, seemed to be in her element.

Maura's capacity of adaptation wasn't normal though. What kind of human was just as much at ease in the city wearing stilettos as on a hiking trail walking a very tiny path surrounded by lizzards?

"That's not funny at all, Maura."

"Oh. It wasn't my intention..." Yet the wink she gave Jane betrayed her remark. Of course, she was teasing her. "You will see, it is really a beautiful hike and I am actually very happy that you accepted to do it with me today. It means a lot to me. It really does."

A two-hour hike. Instead of taking the bus as they had done until now, Maura had suggested that they could choose the hike option instead. Then once in Thira, they would take their time and come back at the end of the day with the island public transport. Jane had accepted right away and she was now paying for her naivety.

Obviously they should have stayed in bed and should have succumbed to another kind of activity that they hadn't really stopped doing since Oula's cousin's wedding. It was a lot less dangerous and a lot more pleasant than what she had just signed for.

A warm sensation spread in her lower stomach as the reminiscence of the evening before hit her mind. Their dinner had been romantic, very romantic now that she thought about it. She hadn't really looked for something like that in the first place. She had simply wanted to find her very own way to surprise Maura the way Maura had surprised her the day they had arrived in Santorini. And it had worked out wonderfully.

She hadn't needed Kostos and whatever the past he shared with Maura was. She had managed to use the very few contacts she had to please Maura, to make sure that from now on they would have their very own addresses on the island. They would be theirs and nobody else's. Perhaps it was a bit of a territorial approach but Jane liked the idea.

They hadn't gone for a walk afterward. They had headed back to the hotel instead and had made love until very late in the night. Perhaps there was nothing to understand, as Maura had said... Yet the truth was that Jane had to admit that everything seemed oddly natural; logical. As if it were meant to be.

And maybe it was.

After a couple of lazy hours in bed this morning, they had finally got up and that was when Jane's innocence had striken. What an idiot she had been.

"I didn't know you liked hiking."

They had been walking for almost an hour now and still had to come across a single tourist. Obviously they had better things to do than risking their life on a cliff even if dying in Santorini sounded glamorous. The sun was high in the sky and Jane felt hot, thirsty. She had almost emptied her whole bottle of water already.

"I do. It is probably one of the best ways to exercize and look at this view!" Maura stopped to open her arms at the Caldera. "Isn't it breathtaking?" She approached the edge of the path, not bothered at all by the height of the cliff.

"I'd appreciate it even more if you weren't so close to the void. Come over here. I don't want to lose you when I just found you."

Jane choked on her own words. At no moment had she wanted to say such thing. It had come out by itself without her having the slightest control over it. And it had been meaningful, so meaningful.

Her cheeks began to burn yet not because of the sun. It was her words, her stupid words. Her mind speaking for her. She looked down to hide her sudden blushing. In vain. Why had she said that?

"I am here to stay, you don't have to be worried." Maura's peaceful voice echoed the serene smile that was playing on her lips. Unlike Jane who was still blushing, she had embraced the confession to fully assume it. She sat down on a rock as far as she could from the void and motioned the spot next to her. "Come on... Have a seat. We are halfway through, we can have a break. Can't we?"

Jane timidly accepted the invitation and settled on the rock. Sadly there was no much shadow. The climate was arid. Even olive trees hadn't made it here. A desert. They were walking through a desert surrounded by the sea.

She took her bottle out of her backpack then gulped down the last remaining sips of water. Maura thankfully carried two more bottles with her; two more they would obviously need.

"There is a beautiful church in Thira. The ceiling is made of gold and blue, the paintings are old but well preserved. It is my favorite one of the archipelago. I am glad to be able to share it with you today."

Perhaps Maura's confession wasn't as meaningful as her very own one but it nonetheless touched Jane a lot. She knew that Maura loved Santorini, she had even probably felt in love with the island at first sight to fantasize about a wedding here.

The fact that she kept on saying she was glad to finally be here with her, Jane, owned a very unique meaning; such a powerful one that warmed up Jane's heart peacefully.

"We'll go in when we make it there."

After all, Jane owed it to her family. She had walked by many churches and hadn't entered any yet. Her mother would not be very happy even if she had taken her distance with the Church since her divorce. Angela was still catholic. Jane too, or at least in theory. Reality was a bit different, she had to admit it.

"What?" Maura scoffed and stood up, putting thus an end to their break. It was time to resume their walking if they wanted to arrive to Thira for lunch. "You are half-naked, Jane, so you can't come in... You would have to cover your shoulders as well as your legs... We haven't taken proper clothes to walk inside a Greek church."

Jane looked down at her attire. Maura was right, she hadn't thought about that. She grabbed her backpack and they left their little spot by the Caldera.

They arrived in Thira an hour and a half later. The last miles had been easier as Jane had finally got accustomed to the height as well as to the narrowness of the path. They had taken their time to admire the landscape, hand in hand. Jane had taken pictures – even a few shots with Maura – and had gladly welcomed this feeling of pride as the first houses of Thira had appeared at the end of the path. She had overcome her fears and couldn't be happier right now.

"You know what I'd like to do?" Sipping on a strawberry granita, Jane took a deep breath and flashed a bright smile at Maura. "I'd love to be able to take my shoes off."

This wasn't the kind of confession Maura had expected to hear. It took her aback. Completely. They had stopped by a restaurant on top of the cliffs of Thira and had sat at a table on the terrace, in the shadows of some pine trees.

The big cruise ships were shining in the sun below, rocked by the quiet waves of the sea. The view was breathtaking and the place exceptionnally quiet.

"I am afraid that this isn't going to happen any time soon, Jane. However when we are back to Oia, I can promise you a massage. If you are well-behaved, that is..."

Jane was about to reply when she turned her head around and gasped in horror. A tourist had stepped over the low wall of the terrace and was now on top of a very tiny rock that overlooked the void.

She swallowed hard, unable to break eye-contact with the stranger and the sign that said such move was prohibited. It was windy, besides. What would happen if the person lost his balance?

"Jane?" The moment her lover looked at her again, Maura barely held back a laugh. She had no idea whatsoever that Jane was slightly afraid of heights. It was very unexpected. "Are you alright?"

Jane nodded and watched how the daring tourist peacefully walked back to his table as if nothing had happened at all.

"Please tell me you don't want to do what he just did. Please."

A graceful grin lit up Maura's eyes. It embraced her features beautifully. She shook her head and held Jane's hand tightly before focusing back on the Aegean sea.

"When I told you that I was here to stay, I meant it."

She was, she really was. And not just for the remaining week they still had to spend in Santorini. She just didn't add that part. What for? Jane obviously knew about it already. Perhaps they couldn't really put a name on whatever was happening but they both knew nonetheless that it wasn't just a fling.


	15. It Is Okay

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews.**

**...**

_**"It's just as awkward as a bad Hugh Grant movie." Jane Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter Fifteen – It Is Okay**

A powerful lightning embraced the sea – revealing for a furtive second the volcano in the distance and a few cruise ships by the harbor of Thira – before thunders echoed all around as the night plunged the island in an electric darkness anew.

Maura closed the small window of the kitchen area and leaned against the wall; pensive.

The moment they had stepped into the bus that would take them back to the north of the archipelago, the sun had been swept away by heavy gray clouds whereas the usual dry heat had suddenly turned into something a lot more humid and it hadn't taken them long to understand that a storm was coming.

They had reached Oia just when the first rain drops were starting to fall - icy diamonds landing on their hot skin – and they had rushed back to their studio without casting a glance at the Caldera.

The downpour was now such that their evening plans had been reduced to the very small surface of their room. There wouldn't be any walk through the narrow streets of the village, there wouldn't be any sunset to contemplate. Instead, they would stay inside and watch television while eating whatever was left in the fridge. A quiet evening, in a word; a perfect one for some introspection.

Too perfect for it, actually.

As much as she had taken her time to postpone the upcoming face-to-face, Jane ended up stepping out of the bathroom after a long and relaxing bath. It wasn't that she didn't want to spend the evening with Maura – of course, she wanted to – but she felt trapped inside the studio; trapped in the nets of her very own uncertainty.

Unless they just had sex. At least by then, nobody had to speak. Why did words have to make life so complicated?

There had been the wedding night that had led them to reach another kind of intimacy in their relationship then the restaurant the evening before that had brought up a sweetness they still could feel whenever their hands brushed.

And it had been easy, because it had been deprived of any desire to talk about anything special. But as she took the stairs down to join Maura on the small couch of the living-room area, Jane knew that tonight would be different if only because they were alone and not outside in public.

Evenings were idyllic for confessions, way too much actually.

"I am afraid we only have pasta... Pasta and cheese." Maura's unexpected timidity oddly matched Jane's. She opened the frigde and took a block of feta out of it. A quiet laugh passed her lips as she stared at the kitchen counter. "Isn't it strange how we always end up eating pasta? Here, in Boston... It isn't Greece we should be in but Italy!"

Jane poured two large glasses of wine and held out one to Maura.

The remark was true although it did have a logical explanation. They were often too tired to cook anything substantial in Boston. They crashed at her place or at Maura's after a long day at work and reduced to a minimum the cooking.

Or at least this happened for unplanned evenings. The rest of the time, Maura made sure to prepare what she loved calling a proper dinner; a healthy one. And by then Jane often joined to help her.

"Don't tell it to ma' but..." Jane sat down on the couch and grabbed the remote control of the television. "I might prefer Greece to Italy."

Although the moment she realized that 'satellite' meant Bloomberg, Jane felt the urge to come back on her statement.

Slightly desperate, she chose a local network and began to focus on what seemed to be a Greek soap opera of some sort. Of course she couldn't understand what the actors were saying but it was okay. The program still brought the entertainment and the escape she was looking for.

Maura settled next to her and took a sip of her wine. She barely cast a glance at the television. Her attention found better interest in Jane. She put behind her lover's ear a rebel lock of her hair and ran her tongue over her lips.

"You are beautiful."

Jane's heart missed a beat. She hadn't expected such comment at all. She looked down at her glass of wine – glad that she hadn't been sipping on it or else she would have choked and would be now coughing loudly – and swallowed hard. A bitter smile played on her lips. She raised her eyebrows with incredulity then shook her head at Maura.

"We both know it's not true but that's okay. No. I'm not pretty, I wasn't born for it." She was born to get bruises, to break her arms and collect scars on her skin. Her makeup skills were close to an absolute zero and she always looked with envy at these women who had curves where curves were supposed to be. "It's... I'm witty, sarcastic and grumpy. But pretty? No, not really."

As a matter of fact, she didn't even understand how some people could find her remotely attractive. It had always been a complete mystery to her. Even more with Maura who was so much more sophisticated; so much more intelligent and educated.

Why she had kissed her in the first place made absolutely no sense whatsoever for Jane. As for the rest, it was just as blurry.

"I know that beauty is suggestive but I wish you could see what I see."

The soft bitterness that rose in Maura's voice made Jane's heart ache. It wasn't the first time that they discussed it although until now they hadn't been as close as they currently were.

Yet even if there was no novelty whatsoever in the topic, she still had a hard time dealing with it. She knew that Maura was sincere – she could feel it – but she simply disagreed. Whenever she looked at herself in a mirror, Jane didn't see the description her friend used to make of her. As a matter of fact, what she saw was the exact opposite.

"I can hardly change the perception I have of myself, I'm sorry."

Maura wrinkled her nose in disapproval. She set down her glass of wine on the coffee table and cuddled against Jane. Her lips brushed her lover's neck in an invisible kiss.

"I disagree. Of course you have influence on the way you want to see yourself; we all own the capacity to do it. It isn't easy, though." But she wasn't here for reproaches. They were on vacation and something important had just happened to their relationship. She wanted to spend a nice evening, a quiet one. "You... Are the best thing that ever happened to me."

Maura's words hit the air before embracing her cheeks of a delicate shade of pink. Perhaps she should have formulated her sentence a bit differently. Her statement sounded way too meaningful, all of a sudden. She knew that it would make Jane panic.

"How many... How many _Jane_ did you have?" What was that question, exactly? Mortified, Jane focused straight in front of her and took a deep breath. Maura was opening up about her feelings and the only thing that she managed to say in return was asking her about potential exes? She couldn't have asked for a more atrocious way to turn a sweet talk in a pure nightmare; a nightmare she couldn't escape from considering the downpour outside. "I mean you know... As I told you already, I only had one _Maura_ so far. How about you?"

Why? Why had she chosen this specific moment to ask such a thing? And just when she was trying to run away from it, words had preceeded her and had insisted even more on a question that sounded more and more inappropriate.

She shouldn't push Maura to talk about these things. As a matter of fact, nobody should do that. If someone wanted to talk about a romantic past life then he or she did it but at no moment was a third party supposed to rush this person to do it.

She felt Maura get tense against her. The flinch was almost imperceptible but considering the degree of her stupidity, Jane had developed a fifth sense that betrayed every single awkward detail of the evening.

"Oh."

Jane waited for Maura to develop her thought but nothing actually came up and – after a few seconds of hesitation – she had no choice but to face the fact that she had to say something if she didn't want to die of shame within the very next minutes.

"Never mind. I mean... Forget about it." She raised a hand to apologize and began to vehemently shook her head. A nervous laugh passed her lips but it fell flat; flat and slightly tragic. "Gosh... It's just as awkward as a bad Hugh Grant movie."

The remark elicited a honest laugh from Maura, a warm one that filled the room and broke the tension that had built between them. She grabbed the remote control and changed the channel. She was not particularly eager to watch anything but such move made her win some time; time that she needed to think about a couple of things.

"Three. I had three _Jane_... One in college, the second one a bit later when I was a young medical examiner – way before we got to meet each other – and you. Three..."

Jane's nod died halfway as she realized that she didn't know what to say. Her curiosity had been satisfied and now what? A tiny voice started getting louder in her head though. She tried to ignore it at first but the battle didn't seem fair so she let it speak for her, out of cowardice.

"Why did you never tell me about it?"

There was not an ounce of reproach in her voice – not an ounce of pain either – but the honesty of a vague confusion. They had met five years ago and had shared a lot more than what Jane would ever share with anyone else. They had talked about everything. Yet Maura had remained quiet over this side of her.

Were there other things Jane ignored about her?

Maura sat up to properly look at Jane and shrugged. Unlike her lover, she didn't look bothered by the talk they were having nor by the revelation – if one could call it that way – she had just made. Very matter-of-factly, she locked her eyes with Jane's dark ones and let the words come out.

"You never asked."

The pragmatism of the reply took Jane aback until its shapes embraced her mind and she realized that if there was an answer Maura could give her then it had to be this one. She quietly laughed and shifted her position to cuddle against Maura.

Perhaps these evenings stuck inside weren't so bad.


	16. The Caldera

**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews and messages, they are very much appreciated.**

**...**

_**"If you climb these 250 steps, you will have as many Mythos as you want." Maura Isles.**_

**Chapter Sixteen – The Caldera**

The shuttle stopped rather suddenly and caused Jane to open her eyes back. It was somehow early and she wasn't particularly eager to wake up yet.

Sadly as she looked by the window, she realized that she didn't have much of a choice as they had already reached the harbor of Ammoudi. Tourists began to step out of the car. She patiently for Maura to do it as well then dragged herself out of her way too comfortable seat.

Today was the day that she had been waiting for since the moment she had put a foot in Santorini a week earlier. She had literally harrassed Maura with it every time they walked by a travel agency. If there was something she wanted to do on the island then it was it: the excursion in the Caldera.

They would start with a hike on the Volcano. For the very first time, she would be able to see Oia and Thira from a certain distance. All the travel book guides said the same about it: the view was just unique, immensely singular and breathtaking. Then the sailing boat would take them to warm springs where they would relax for a while before heading to the small island of Thirassia for lunch. The return to Oia was announced for 4pm.

She was beyond thrilled.

Eight other tourists had signed for their excursion. It was a small group as their guide, Elena, had told them. They were lucky. Too often in the summer travel agencies accepted to book bigger groups because of the quite high demand and vacationers couldn't enjoy the excursion properly as the different spots were quickly crowded.

"I can't believe I woke up at 8am of my own volution." Jane cast a very last glance at the small taverns of Ammoudi before stepping on board of the large sailing boat. "I'm on vacation. There's no world... Nothing before 10am!"

Maura preferred to remain quiet over the challenge it had been to actually drag Jane out of bed an hour earlier. If she hadn't been as persuasive as she had been, they would have missed the shuttle.

The excursion was a classic but she nonetheless loved it and wanted to make sure that it would be just as unforgettable for Jane as it had been for her the first time she had made it. Seeing Jane happy was all what she wanted.

"I am surprised to see that you declined the glass bottom option though. I thought that you would enjoy it."

They had booked the excursion four days earlier but Jane had insisted on not choosing one of these boats that had a glass bottom. Tourists usually loved it.

"And see there are sharks in the sea? No thanks. I watched _Jaws_, Maura. I know how it works." Jane settled on the floor along with the rest of the group. "Besides, sailing boats are better. Kind of... More authentic and all."

"I didn't know that you liked sailing boats. You need to see Papi's. Maybe he would even be eager to take you out on the sea."

Jane accepted the papersheet that Elena held out to her and skimmed through it. It just summed up the schedule of the excursion point by point.

"Who is Papi?"

The name did ring a bell but she couldn't put a face on it.

She folded the paper then put it in her backpack before unfolding her legs and adjusting her Aviators on top of her nose. She leaned her back against the boat and took a deep breath. The sun was high and so warm against her skin. It was a perfect, peaceful morning.

"Papi is Kostos' grandfather."

Jane repressed the urge to roll her eyes and vaguely nodded at Maura instead. Why did Kostos always have to show up at some point in their conversations? He was like a running gag, a very bad one.

Definitely not in the mood to know anything about him, Jane took her digital cam out of her backpack and started taking pictures instead. The crossing to the volcano was rather fast so she wanted to make sure to not miss the view over Oia from their boat if only to go on her colleagues' nerves. She could already hear their sighs of despair.

Maura didn't insist and started chatting instead with another couple who were in Greece for a month. They were coming from the island of Paros and would go to Crete the very next day for two weeks. Like many others, they wanted to visit as many archipelagos as they could during their vacation. They had become ferry experts as it was easier to go from an island to another by boat. Only a few archipelagos had airports with connecting flights to Athens.

"Are you on a honeymoon?"

The question - as innocent as it was - made Maura blush. She immediately looked down at her lap and shook her head at the woman hoping that Jane hadn't overheard anything.

"No... Just on vacation."

...

The crater of Nea Kameni turned out to be a rather easy hike. It was hot and many rocks littered the large path that led to the heart of the island formed by the volcano but Jane did not face the same issues as she had when walking from Oia to Thira by the cliffs. There was no lizzard whatsoever and the height was not as impressive as the other hiking trail. The view was nonetheless just as breathtaking.

The crater was huge and overlooked Oia as well as Thira. Another group had already made it there when they reached the edge of the volcano with Elena.

"Holy crap... Hey, I guess I can see our hotel from here."

The remark made Maura laugh. She grabbed a little rock from the volcano and observed it with a meticulousness that announced an upcoming lecture about plate tectonics. Jane took a deep breath and waited for it. In vain. Maura simply put the little rock in the pocket of her bermudas and decided to take pictures of the singular place instead.

They took a very last shot of the two of them with the crater and Oia in the background then joined the group again. It was now time to dive into the sea and swim until the warm springs of the archipelago.

Jane took her shirt off as indicated – the boat could not approach the springs and that was the reason why they had to swim to them – and squinted her eyes at Maura. Something was different in her attitude. Nothing concerning but still, it took Jane aback. Slightly.

"Are you okay? I mean, you haven't given us a lecture about volcanos and warm springs yet. So far you have only like... You know... Shared random words with everyone."

"Elena is an excellent guide... Her explanations are extremely complete so I have absolutely nothing to add." Maura put her sunglasses on top of her head and approached the edge of the boat where tourists were already jumping from to go and swim towards the springs. "But if you insist, I still can tell you that..."

Way too eager to escape whatever she might have caused, Jane jumped into the water not even bothering to take the ladder like the other tourists. Maura soon joined her in a quieter way but didn't miss how Jane's loud splash had caught the attention of a few, starting with a young American guy who was now literally ogling Jane.

Maura immediately swam towards her lover. She icily looked at the tourist and cleared her voice before addressing Jane as loudly as she could.

"Come with me over there, _honey_." The least Maura could say was that her tone had been extremely authoritative; and hopefully territorial enough.

The pet name took Jane completely aback. As much as their relationship had reached a brand new level, neither of them had felt the desire to use such names until now. As a matter of fact, she could hardly say that it sounded like something Maura would do.

Unaware of the American who was looking at her with obvious interest, she nodded at Maura and quietly followed her.

The temperature of the water began to rise. The hike on the volcano hadn't been very tough but the truth was that it was nice to now be able to swim around in a very warm sea. It was relaxing.

"I am starving!" Maura burst out laughing as she reached the perfect spot. She stopped swimming – her feet could easily touch the bottom – and waited for Jane to come closer. They didn't have much intimacy as most of the boats stopped by the springs for tourists to enjoy them but she didn't care much. "Are you hungry?"

"Kind of..." As Maura's hands slid on her waist to bring her closer, a delicate shade of pink embraced Jane's cheeks. She laughed a bit nervously. "What are you doing?"

They weren't alone and Santorini wasn't Mykonos. Actually, Jane was pretty sure that they were the only same-sex couple on their boat. She had observed the other tourists and hadn't noticed anything. Besides, her temper was such that she had always been rather discreet in public no matter her partner's sex.

"Nothing... There is a very good restaurant in Thirassia that has the best _baklavas*_ of the archipelago. It is located on top of the island in the small village of Manolas."

The kiss on her nape turned out to be furtive but bold enough to make Jane straighten up and clear her voice nonetheless. Yet it was nothing compared to what followed next.

The moment she felt Maura's hand pass the hem of her bikini bottom, Jane felt how cheeks began to burn. She cast a panicked glance around. They couldn't do that here. They weren't alone.

"A village, you say?" Her attempt to sound casual and unaware of Maura's intentions completely failed. An embarrassed laugh passed her lips. She grabbed Maura's hand and shook her head. "Have you lost your mind? Not here!"

"Then where?" Maura winked. "Don't be worried, I was just teasing you. There is no way I let body fluids more or less degrade such beautiful spot. Did you know that the springs were protected by the government?"

"And there I was thinking you didn't want to do anything here because you didn't have exhibitionist tendencies." Yet the body fluid explanation oddly suited Maura, Jane had to admit it. "Now back to this restaurant thing. You won't fool me... The village's on top of the island? Hmm. How many steps, exactly?"

Maura made a face. Jane wasn't a Cyclades novice anymore. She knew that a breathtaking view meant outdoor stairs and thus a certain effort to make in the heat. Her supposedly casual shrug didn't fool anyone either so she decided to use another subterfuge, one that she knew would always work with Jane: beer.

"If you climb these 250 steps, you will have as many Mythos as you want."

...

Baklavas: Middle-Eastern dessert, sweet pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and held together with honey or syrup.


	17. In Disguise

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews.**

**...**

_**"No, Dongu as in the Queen of Sheba." Jane Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter Seventeen – In Disguise**

"Something happened in Nea Kameni. Look at my legs! I have zillion of scratches." Jane slightly pulled up the bath towel she was wrapped in and showed her thighs to Maura. "The hell? We've done exactly the same and you have nothing!"

A curse. Jane actually saw it as a curse. She had always had more bruises and scratches than anyone else in the world. Even as a child, neither of her brothers could actually compete with the poor state of her bruised skin. The reason was quite mysterious, actually. Yes she was intrepid but certainly not more than most of the boys in the neighborhood.

Eager to please Jane so she would stop whining, Maura set down the book she was reading on one of the bedside tables and approached her to have a closer look at the very superficial injuries. She sat up on her knees to be at the right level and let her fingertips brush the hot skin of Jane's hips. Needless to say that her intentions were not medical oriented and soon her lips joined the invisible path traced by her fingers on the olive skin.

The touch made Jane giggle.

"What are you doing?"

Her question was rhetorical and they both knew it. Maura's gestures were full of confidence and the sparkle in her eyes didn't leave much room to the imagination. A mischievous smile curled up her lips as she looked up at Jane and passed both her hands underneath the bath towel.

"What you didn't want to do in the warm springs." It wasn't that Maura hadn't been able to think about anything else but she did have to admit that she had missed the closeness to Jane's skin and the possibility to caress it; to plant kisses on it. "We are alone, here."

"Please don't mention body fluids though."

It was one thing to allude to these in a place where they both knew that nothing would happen but it was a complete different story when they were back to the studio and alone. Or at least there was a difference for Jane. Maura didn't have the same boundaries if she ever had any at all.

Jane's bath towel quietly landed on the floor as Maura's hands slid on her lower back before going down her buttocks. A laugh passed Jane's lips, a soft one. She was not really sure to understand why such degree of intimacy was actually so easy with Maura. It shouldn't have been. They had been friends for a long time and if Jane had always considered her as the most important person of her life, she had never thought about Maura in a sexual way.

Or at least not until now.

The context was such that they should have been a bit timid or even clumsy but they weren't at all. Jane did not even have an issue with the idea of standing naked in front of Maura when it had always cost her a lot to do it in any of her previous relationships. It just seemed natural with Maura; natural and sweet. Even arousing.

She let Maura pull her closer to her body and closed her eyes the moment she resumed her kissing. Maura's hands were now pressing tightly on her hips, so firmly that it contrasted with the softness of her lips on Jane's shivering skin.

A random path of teasing kisses, from her thighs to her lower stomach; a game of subtle caresses led by the tip of Maura's tongue. Jane took a deep breath before sighing quietly.

They had come back to the hotel an hour earlier, ecstatic after the excursion. She had loved everything about it: the volcano, the springs and even the stairs that led to the small village of Manolas in Thirassia. Yet now that she thought about it, she didn't know if the success of the day was caused by the impressive landscape or because she had shared all of this with Maura; with the only person who really mattered in the end and made so much sense in her life.

The moment the kisses grew bolder and won in intensity, Jane tried to approach the bed to lie on it but Maura prevented her from doing so. She held her firmly instead making sure that she would not move an inch. And – without any warning – she finally left behind the teasing path of her tongue to make contact with Jane's most sensitive flesh to bring her to a release.

The sudden touch made Jane blush in spite of her subconscious desire to see Maura go for it. They had remained quieter – more classic – so far in their love making sessions. She hadn't expected it and, very surprised by Maura's mischievous move, her senses seemed to have literally multiplied.

Still in desperate need of some balance, she grabbed Maura by the shoulders before letting one of her hands plunge into her blond hair for a more intimate contact.

She arched her back and bit her lower lip to repress a moan of pleasure that would have anyway disappeared under the layers of her rough breathing the moment it would have hit the air as the shaking of her voice would have betrayed her feverish state of mind.

Maura's hands didn't move anymore. The heat of their palm passed underneath Jane's skin in a tantalizing way. It slid along her hips and embraced them as if their respective bodies were melting into a unique one controlled by the inner desires of their quiet hearts, by the pace of Maura's tongue on Jane.

A drop of sweat slid along Jane's spine and came to die in her lower back. The feather touch made her shiver and – subconsciouly enough – she brought Maura's head closer and closer; asking her implicitly to put an end to the sweet torture she was going through. She couldn't handle it any longer. Her legs were now shaking and her heartbeats were going too fast. She was on the edge and she knew it.

The variations of Maura's pace was driving her crazy.

Her orgasm hit her without any warning. Completely taken aback by the intensity, Jane gasped and opened back her eyes. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe. Her whole body had ceased to work and everything had frozen as the powerful wave of pleasure kept on rushing through her veins.

...

"A Euro for your thoughts."

The not so subtle change of currency was extremely nerdy but Jane couldn't help loving it. She burst out laughing and turned to Maura to lock her eyes with hers. It was late in the evening now. They had skipped dinner and she was now starving but the softness of Maura's body against her in bed was such that she did not want to move away from her.

Her bath towel was still somewhere on the floor, by the bed. Maura's clothes had joined it a while ago already, carried away by a whirl of sighs and kisses; quiet caresses.

"Dongu. I miss Dongu."

Of course Maura had not expected Jane to throw herself in some sort of a monologue to express romantic feelings but she hadn't assumed that she would actually focus on animals either. They had just made love. The transition was very odd, slightly disturbing even.

"The donkey?!"

The perplexity that showed on Jane's face echoed Maura's puzzled expression. Jane blinked and pretended to ponder the question Maura had just asked.

"No... Dongu as in the Queen of Sheba...?" But her ironic comment didn't get any reaction from Maura. "Of course I'm talking about the donkey! How many Dongu's do you know, Maura? Gosh." Her laugh betrayed an obvious amusement.

"Just as many as people who actually think about donkeys right after they had sexual intercourse with me."

Alright. Jane had to admit that her very own reply had been slightly tactless but the truth was that she had only been honest. She hadn't seen the aforesaid donkey since the day its owner had yelled at it for eating Maria's flowers. Jane simply hoped that nothing bad had happened to Dongu; for whatever reason. She didn't feel particularly close to it – after all, it had tried to eat her bath towel – but she didn't want anything bad to happen to it either.

"I'm not comparing what we did to a donkey... It just crossed my mind. What can I say? I don't really have a hold over my subconscious. I was staring at the window and at the flower pots that are now empty and the whole thing made me think about Dongu."

"I knew that your reaction was just a facade. You like donkeys, don't you? You remember its name. It is sweet of you."

Maura leaned up on her elbows to plant a kiss on Jane's lips. She let her fingers slide on her cheek before them to settle in the crook of her neck. She loved touching Jane. Her skin was smooth, hot.

Addicting.

She could have spent days in bed doing nothing but tracing invisible paths with her fingers on the olive skin, dropping kisses here and there when the urge to make a more intimate contact with Jane was too strong to resist.

"I remember a lot of things, actually." The comment caused Jane to frown. Her words were confusing, she wasn't sure of what she had tried to say yet a slight discomfort had embraced her the moment she had spoken out loud. "I mean..."

An odd silence began to float above their heads. Maura patiently waited for Jane to finish her sentence but she finally gave in the moment she realized that Jane was a bit stuck.

"Yes?"

Nothing else came up. Jane remained bare and alone before the sudden emptiness of her brain. She was not even able to analyze the slightest thing anymore. Something had shut down within herself and all she could focus on was the way Maura's fingers kept on caressing her neck. The touch made her shiver almost imperceptibly. It drove her on the edge in a perfect anonymity.

"I don't know." Her perplexity melted into a honest laugh, a perplexed one. She rolled on her side and cuddled against Maura. "Everything happens for a reason."

She had murmured the words the way we don't dare to admit a truth that might be hard to face. Yet her remark was meaningful, a sort of confession in disguise. The very first one she made. Perhaps they didn't understand a few things that were now happening to them but - deep inside - Jane was actually convinced that it was anything but an accident.

Just like the rest, all the things she had lived with Maura. She would never be able to forget them. They were engraved in her heart - in her mind - and brought this singular shape to her life.

The sentence echoed on Maura's lips. A bright smile lit up her features and she nodded; peacefully.

"Indeed."


	18. Kostos, Jane And Maura

**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews and messages.**

**...**

_**"I don't usually introduce people according to their sexual orientation but I can make an effort and change my habits." Maura Isles.**_

**Chapter Eighteen – Kostos, Jane And Maura**

The moment Jane stopped to look up at the hotel above, she realized that she hadn't made the right choice. Armeni Bay was even lower than Ammoudi and who talked about heights in Santorini implicitly thought about these old cobblestone stairs. As a matter of fact, they looked very cute and so authentic but the second you put a foot on them, the heavenly postcard turned into a real ordeal.

And for once, she was actually the only one to blame. Maura had stayed at the hotel to revise an important file the senator had just emailed her and Jane had felt like going out for a little walk in the meantime.

Lord knows why she had taken the first path on her right while leaving Atlantis Villas, though. She knew that it led to Armeni Bay and nowhere else just as she knew that the aforesaid small harbor lay way below the level of Oia.

As usual, going down had been easy. She had stopped a couple of times to admire the landscape and take a few pictures but it had barely taken her 30 minutes to reach the small pier down by the sea where a group of donkeys was patiently waiting in the shadows. Yet none of them was Dongu. His absence among them didn't help her latent anxiety concerning the flower-eating donkey.

Unlike Ammoudi, Armeni Bay didn't even have a single tavern. Apart from a minuscule warehouse and the pier Jane had sat on, the place was empty; surrounded by the volcanic rocks. At least it was very peaceful and Jane's heart ached a bit when she realized that she would have loved Maura to be here so they could have shared this quiet moment together in the delicate sunlight of the morning. They still could come back though. What were 400 stairs compared to Maura's very genuine happiness?

"Jane?"

It didn't even take her two seconds to put a name on the voice. Repressing a strong urge to roll her eyes and growl, Jane forced a smile and politely nodded at Kostos. She hadn't heard him arrive at all yet there he was holding a huge notebook.

"It's been a while since I saw you. Did you enjoy Kamari? I'm so sorry I haven't had a chance yet to stop by your hotel and invite the two of you for a dinner at home but I've been very busy... There are more and more tourists. It's a real job, you know!"

The sparkle in his eyes matched his grin with a perfection Jane didn't know what to do of. Yes, she was a bit jealous of him and so what? His attitude went on her nerves. What kind of person dared to be happy all the time the way he was?

Alright. Maura was just alike and this was not the kind of correlation that would actually comfort Jane. Not at all.

"It's okay... Kamari ahem... Yeah, it was cool. What... What are you doing here?" Jane's curiosity showed in spite of her effort to sound casual. It wasn't her fault. Armeni Bay was very small and not a lot of people took the stairs down with a notebook at 10.30am. "You're... Like drawing?"

Kostos widened his eyes with great surprise. It took him a few seconds to realize that Jane's suggestion was caused by the notebook he was holding. Her conclusion made him burst out laughing.

"Oh no! I'm waiting for a fisherman. He's bringing me fish... For lunch, for the restaurant." Kostos happily sat down next to Jane and cast a brief glance at the sea but the boat he was looking for was nowhere to be seen. "Maura told me it was your first trip to Greece. Do you like it so far?"

Just when she thought that she had found the perfect spot for a little moment of peace - alone - Kostos of all people had had to show up to ruin everything. And then people dared to say that she was lucky! The nerves.

Trying to not let her lack of enthusiasm show, Jane nodded and focused on the quiet waves that were crashing a couple of steps away from her.

"Very much so. It's a beautiful country and people... People are so nice. How come..." The question was burning her lips but she wasn't sure that she should ask. Something made her doubt. Yet since Kostos was now waiting for her to finish her sentence, she gave in. "How come you speak English so well? No offense but people are not really fluent here."

"I graduated from Oxford. Coming back here was not part of my plans but my father passed away six years ago and I couldn't let my grandfather manage the restaurant alone. He is too old for that and it is my role anyway to do all this. We have a big – very big – family spirit in Greece. The family comes first, no matter what."

A sentiment of shame invaded Jane. She had been awful with him – or at least in her head – when he had always been nice and had just proved it again. Needless to say that she now understood why Maura cared so much about him. As a matter of fact, it made a lot more sense than her being attracted to grumpy, mean Jane.

"I'm sorry for your father. I hope you enjoy it here. It must have been... Tough for you to draw a line under another career."

Her lact of tact caused Jane to blush. Couldn't she make a proper effort and sound friendly, at least once? She was really bad at handling conversations with anyone who wasn't a suspect of some sort.

"You know... I've been lucky... As you can see, there are worse places to work at on Earth and Michael came along. He moved to Greece with me... He accepted it right away. He's my partner. We've been together for the past fifteen years."

Jane desperately tried to repress a gasp of surprise which caused her to unfold her legs rather nervously before folding them again while she kept on nodding at nobody but the sea. This was really not the kind of detail that she had assumed to get from Kostos. Not the slightest bit.

"And you... How long have you been with Maura? I'm glad she finally found someone. You know, we met when she was 8 or something. She's like a little sister to me. We grew up together. She's the first person I broke the news to when I understood that I was gay. It's not something easy here. My family's quite conservative. But thanks to Maura, things did not turn out so bad."

...

Breathless, Jane reached the studio and opened the door only to slam it back closed the second she stepped inside. She wanted to make sure that Maura would hear her if she was still around. As expected, Maura poked her head by the door of the laundry room and frowned.

Jane raised her hands in the air in her best Angela Rizzoli imitation.

"You could have told me he was gay!"

Maura walked into the room but it took Jane too long to realize that she was casting furtive glances at the laundry. The moment Oula came out of it, a burning sensation travelled up Jane's cheeks. Why did she have to be so impulsive? Why?

"Oh. Hi, Oula. How are you? Do you want a drink or something?" Jane rushed to the small kitchen in a coward attempt to run away from a slightly embarrassing moment.

Thankfully Oula declined the offer and left after explaining that she had stopped by to check the washing machine that was a bit too noisy.

"Alright, Jane. Who are you talking about?" Maura quietly closed the door behind her and went to sit on the couch. "And please, don't yell. I am not sure that half of Oia is eager to learn about people's sexual orientation."

"Kostos..." Jane turned around and looked at Maura. Her cheeks were still burning but she didn't mind much about it anymore. Blushing in front of Maura because of her legendary lack of tact was okay. Somehow. "I met him in Armeni Bay and he told me that he was living with some guy named Michael...? Probably the love of his life as they've been together since... Since forever!"

"Oh..." A semblance of surprise pierced in Maura's voice but her attitude only betrayed incomprehension. She shrugged, very matter-of-factly. "I don't usually introduce people according to their sexual orientation but I can make an effort and change my habits. For you... Why should I tell you about Kostos' homosexuality? You weren't really showing any specific interest in him so I didn't see the point. I am sorry."

Jane bit her lower lip and winced in mental pain. Maura was right but then she had absolutely no idea about the scenario that she, Jane, had made up in her mind during all this time. She would never let anyone know but her imagination had been so cruel that she had even suspected Kostos to be Maura's biggest love of her life.

Her mother was right: what a terrible detective she was.

"No...! I mean, people do whatever they want and they date whoever they want. It's just... I don't know... The way you two look at each other... It's confusing."

Maura's eyes widened in obvious panic. The gasp that escaped her lips added to her horrified reaction and she stood up; fists clenched. She wasn't angry but disarmed and very troubled by what Jane had just said.

"Really?" Uncertainty rose in her shaking voice. It was the first time that someone told her such thing about Kostos and her. "He is like a brother to me, Jane. This is... Well... The mere idea of it is very incestuous to me... Even if he weren't gay, Kostos is... No!" Her perplexity melted in a laugh full of confusion. Jane's statement had troubled her. A lot. "I can assure you that I have never thought about him as... No!"

"Oh, don't be worried. I believe you. I just wish my own brain learned its lesson. You know... For my sake." Ouzo, Jane needed Ouzo. She grabbed the bottle and poured herself a shot of the local alcohol but filled a second glass after casting a glance at Maura who was still livid. "Here's one for you too and do me a favor... The next time Jane the impulsive fury shows up, slap me."

Maura didn't nod. A timid smile played on her lips instead and she bent over to plant a tender kiss at the corner of Jane's mouth. Her gesture was sweet, serene. The opposite to Jane's nervousness.

"I can only promise you kisses..."


	19. Live From Boston

**Author's note: Thank you all for the messages and reviews, it's a real pleasure to talk with you.**

**...**

_**"If you want me to be surprised then tell me something I'm supposed to ignore!" Angela Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter Nineteen – Live From Boston**

Maura repressed a yawn and sat next to Jane without saying a word. She straightened up on her seat and focused on the web cam for the second time since they had arrived in Santorini. The only difference lay in her current state of mind, today. She was very nervous at the prospect of facing Angela. Some things had changed between her and Jane - some rather important things – and she knew that the distinct pace into their relationship wouldn't pass unnoticed.

Besides, she couldn't lie. What would happen if Angela confronted her to it?

It was a possibility. There was absolutely nothing crazy in such scenario. The fact Angela would be home and alone might push the matriarch to actually ask them something more personal unlike the week before when half of the BPD had decided to take part in the Skype session.

It couldn't be good. Maura didn't want to trust her instinct as she never did but something told her that – perhaps – she should for once. And she didn't like it.

"Oh my God. You brought condoms here?!" Of course Jane only noticed their presence on the table a second after she clicked on the right button to make the call. "And why so many of them? Were you planning on doing half of Oia?"

Maura shrugged. She had no idea what to reply to that. She had just emptied the contents of her backpack on the table because she wanted to wash it. She hadn't assumed that Jane would feel offended by whatever she carried in it.

"I have tampons too. These are the indispensable items a woman should always go out with... Don't be so prudish, Jane. There is no need whatsoever to roll your eyes."

Jane scoffed. She knew that her reaction was slightly extreme but it was how it worked between the two of them. It was just part of their usual teasing. Condom in hand, she opened her mouth to reply to Maura but got stopped right away by her mother's voice rising in the background.

"I'm really glad to know you're being careful, Janie, but there are some things a mother doesn't want to know about. Though I suppose I can now skip the question about how much you enjoy Greece. Looks like I got an answer already."

"What?!" Heavily blushing, Jane put down the condom and cast a desperate glance at Maura. Help, she needed help. Of course nothing came up from her friend; her lover, to be more exact. As the different of status hit her mind, her anxiety level literally exploded. "No... It's not what you think, ma'. Not at all!"

Angela raised a very unconvinced eyebrow. She had settled down at the counter of Maura's kitchen and was sipping on a mug of tea. The Beacon Hill house seemed rather quiet.

"You're not a teenager anymore, Jane. I can accept the idea you're sexually active. And thank god, responsible."

Jane buried her face in her hands and held back a moan of frustration. Why did all the Skype sessions have to turn into a slightly humiliating moment?

Ironically, the situation was now such that neither she nor Maura needed any of these condoms but this wasn't really something her mother could guess. Not after a five-second connection.

"Yeah great... Fantastic. Awesome." Jane ran a hand through her hair and drew a definitive line under the misunderstanding. There was no point in insisting. Her mother wouldn't believe her anyway. "How are you?"

The image became blurry as Angela seemed to move her laptop around but all of a sudden a very well-known face – or better said 'shell' – appeared.

Bass was peacefully eating his exotic leaves with a hunger that made Maura growl. She was certain that her tortoise would find back his legendary stubborness the moment she would pass the door of her house.

He was doing it on purpose just to piss her off.

"Look who's doing just fine!" Angela poked her head and winked at Maura. She laughed, lightly. At least she was in a good mood. "Jo Friday's somewhere around too... She loves sleeping by the door where you left one of your jackets, Jane. I guess she can smell you. She probably misses you."

Jane politely nodded at her mother. She did miss her dog too actually but that wasn't the kind of thing that she would ever admit. She didn't want to sound lovey dovey.

"So how's Boston? Did you enjoy the pics we sent you? You know, the ones of the volcano and all?"

"I hope you two measure your luck. Massachusetts is beautiful but it's nothing compared to this heaven place where you're staying at. Did you put sunscreenon, Jane? You're really dark! I hope you're careful. The sun'll damage your skin. There's no need for you to look older than what you're already are."

Maura repressed a laugh. If Jane was fishing for compliments, Angela didn't seem very eager to give her any for the moment.

"I can assure you that she is very careful, Angela. I wouldn't let her go in the sun without making sure that she has protection on." Maura felt like making a comparative joke with the condoms but Jane had obviously reached her limits for the day. "And thank you very much for taking care of Bass during my absence. It is very nice of you..." Maura was about to add something when her cell phone rang. "Oh, excuse me." She stood up – grabbed the device – and stepped outside the studio to take the call.

"Did you get my olive oil, Jane? Because I was a little bored yesterday at work and did some investigation work on the web. There's a brand everyone recommends so I was wondering if you..."

"Something happened, ma'."

Jane hadn't meant to interrupt her mother. As a matter of fact, she hadn't planned on saying anything about what she had just vaguely alluded to.

"What is it? Did the two of you argue? Damn, Jane... You're a real pain where-you-know. Can't you make an effort for once? I don't know how Maura can support you all day long like that. Of course it's different for me, I'm your mother. But Maura is..."

"No! We didn't argue. No... Not at all. Actually, it's the opposite that happened. It's..." As doubts began to invade her, Jane looked down at the table and bit her lips. Maybe she shouldn't even be talking about it. After all, she and Maura hadn't taken any decision regarding the whole thing. What if she didn't agree? "You know, it's..."

"You slept together? Yeah. Things happen. Now about this olive oil I was talking about..."

Jane blinked.

She could see her mother talk but she had absolutely no idea what she was actually mentioning. Her brain had stopped working the moment her mother had come to her very own and very true conclusions to not giving a damn about it.

Was olive oil a subterfuge of some sort?

It took Angela a long minute to notice her daughter's puzzled face but the moment she did, she simply stopped talking and rolled her eyes.

"What? You want a medal for something so expected? Jane! If you want me to be surprised then tell me something I'm supposed to ignore! Although it'd better not be about any kind of wedding whatsoever because I swear if the two of you get married in Santorini – and don't tell me it can't happen because I've checked and this island of yours is very famous for its romantic atmosphere – then you'll hear from me."

"But..." Jane furtively cast a glance at the terrace of their studio. Maura was still in full talk with the senator. Obviously he needed to know a couple of extra things regarding the case she had just supervized. "I don't... I don't understand. I mean... How? How did you know?"

This time, Angela looked at her daughter as if she were facing the dumbest person in the universe. The fact she had given birth to the aforesaid person was upsetting, very upsetting.

"Everyone isn't as blind as you are, Jane. I can't believe it took you five years to realize how much Maura meant to you and vice versa. When I think about all the signs I kept on sending you... I'm glad it finally happened: you're made for her, she's made for you. We'll talk about weddings and grandbabies when you're back here but... In the meantime... I'd really appreciate it if you could find this olive oil I'm telling you about. The brand is..."

"I'm not gay."

By the way Angela widened her eyes, Jane assumed that it was not the kind of reply she was expecting. As a matter of fact, she – Jane – had been surprised by her own statement as well.

It came out of the blue, out of a hidden corner of her heart and rose in the air with a confusing insolence. She swallowed hard and tried to ponder her own words. Did she have an issue with the idea of being more intimate with Maura?

"I never said you were. I'm sure all your ex-boyfriends counted for you, I'm sure you weren't lying to yourself. But then Maura showed up and... And she brought all these things to you. Come on. Who cares what it makes of you? You're just being yourself, Jane. Is it a problem for you?"

Angela sounded genuinely taken aback. She knew that she wasn't the one to blame because she had always made clear that she had no issue whatsoever with same-sex couples. Her remarks on the matter hadn't been deprived of any goal – she had mostly thought about Jane by then – but she had actually hoped that it would make her daughter relax.

Obviously it hadn't.

"No..." Jane's reply oddly sounded like a question. Her voice was shaking and she didn't feel fine. A powerful loneliness had wrapped her up and all of a sudden she wished nothing but to be able to throw herself in her mother's arms. It was stupid but she needed to be comforted. And right now. "It's just... I don't understand what happened... What happened to us."

The smile on Angela's lips couldn't have been sweeter. With all the tenderness a mother could show, she shook her head at her daughter and quietly laughed.

"You simply fell in love with each other. This isn't something one can explain. It just happens." Angela shrugged. "That's life! It's just life... You should sherish it, Jane, because life doesn't last..."


	20. Domaine Sigalas

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews and messages. I will take the time to reply to the messages tomorrow.**

**...**

_**"Holy crap, what did they put in this wine, vodka?" Jane Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter Twenty – Domaine Sigalas**

"Are you alright?" Worried, Maura frowned at Jane and waited for the reply that would reassure her. She had meant to ask Jane a while ago but had only found the courage to do so now. "You are very quiet."

The smile that played on Jane's lips fell flat. It was forced and it didn't fool anyone. Yet eager to go on and pretend that she was fine, Jane made a vague gesture of the hand to sweep away Maura's question.

"Yeah, I am. Just... You know... I don't like waiting." And they had been waiting for fifteen minutes now. Fifteen endless minutes on the Rizzoli scale. Nobody was to blame though. Their group was not scheduled to start the visit before more or less another five minutes. "Maybe I'm a bit tired though. I'll have a nap, this afternoon."

Maura nodded but didn't hide the fact that she wasn't very convinced. Something had happened and she didn't know what. She had her suspicions but the whole thing was very blurry.

Jane had adopted a different behavior after the Skype session with her mother the day before. What had happened that Maura had missed? It hadn't taken her very long to assume that the conversation that had had such impact had occured when she had gone outside to take the senator's call. It was even very easy to guess.

But with Jane's stubbornness, it was impossible to get to know the exact root of the problem.

"The Domaine Sigalas is the only winery in the North of the island. That's why we aren't the only tourists eager to visit it. I am sorry, perhaps you were expecting something more... Private?"

Jane shook her head and gently laughed. Maura's attention was extremely sweet and cute. Sadly it only made her guilt grow bigger.

She hadn't told her that she had broken the news about them to her mother. She had absolutely no idea how to bring it up. A part of her couldn't help thinking that she had betrayed Maura somehow but the truth was that the words had just passed her lips before she had had a chance to hold them back. She hadn't planned any of this.

Yet it didn't change the fact that she had outed Maura without asking her first if she was fine with it; nor what she really wanted from this relationship of some sort they were now having.

"Nah, it's cool. I wasn't in the mood to risk my life on the road so I'm kind of glad this winery's so close to the hotel that we can walk the distance. And there're not even outdoor stairs. That's a miracle, let's face it."

The visit to the winery had been planned in advance, or at least it had been in Maura's head. She knew Jane and how she couldn't suggest her a second cultural visit right after the first one. But Akrotiri was far behind them now and her little subterfuge had worked out: Jane had accepted right away and had even showed enthusiasm the moment Maura had let her know that the visit ended with a wine tasting.

"Welcome to the Domaine of Sigalas... Here, the most vibrant quality of the Mediterranean zone, the Santorini Assyrtiko as well as the Aidani, Atiri, Mandilaria and the Mavrotragano are put to the best use possible and with the proper respect to their organoleptic characteristics to bring to you an internationally acclaimed wine."

Their guide had a thick accent but at least he seemed to be nice. Jane put aside the fact that she had absolutely no idea what 'organoleptic' meant and let herself get carried by the winery. She cast a glance at Maura as soon as they stepped outside the small lobby to walk through the vineyard. The straight A's student was back. Extremely attentive, Maura had sped up the pace of her walking to make sure that they would be just behind the guide to not miss a word of his detailed explanations.

Jane was certain that it wasn't the first time Maura took part in such visit though. The island had no secret for her. Not a single one.

The Domaine Sigalas was actually a rather small one with a nice family spirit. The grape culture was made vertically which amused Jane quite a bit. It was the first time she saw something like this.

She had already visited vineyards in the past but all of them used a horizontal method. The effect was singular; quite odd. She perfectly remembered a weekend in the Napa Valley with Maura; one of their first getaways together. It had been nice and they had come back to Boston with memories they would never forget.

"You know what is on my bucket list?" With a sparkle of delight in her eyes, Maura turned to Jane and plunged her hands in the pockets of her linen pants before taking a deep breath. "I would love to own a vineyard. Not an entire domaine but maybe a grapevine, a symbolical one. I would come once a year to check how it is doing and... I don't know... A part of me would be so ridiculously proud to own something that actually produces a primary and concrete product."

For some reason, the confession made Maura blush. She shrugged it all away and bit her lips before focusing on the ground. It was just a fantasy of hers, nothing extraordinary. But she really liked the idea.

"That's a cool idea... Though are you sure you don't want a brewery instead? Because that'd interest me a lot more in the end!" Jane winked to make sure that Maura wouldn't take her words too literally. "I didn't know you had a bucket list."

"Don't we all have one?"

Maura sounded so genuine in her question that Jane didn't know what to reply. The remark was fair and had come up without the mere sign of hesitation yet it was something completely foreign to Jane's world. She hated thinking about the future. She found it stressing, terrifying.

A bucket list only emphasized the idea that nothing was eternal and such a thought was enough to prevent her from sleeping at night.

"I hope there's some food with the drinks because I'm actually starving now..."

Her comment was pointless and uninteresting but at least it got the expected effect and they turned the page over one of Jane's biggest anxieties. She was on vacation and she didn't want to think about the future, not even the near one.

Within a few days now they would be back to Boston and she had no idea whatsoever how they would deal with what they were now living. Yet she had told her mother about it. The fact she had talked clearly meant that a part of her - maybe the one she had to pay attention to the most - was more than eager to go on.

One day at a time. Perhaps it was coward but that was the only excuse Jane had found to run away from the bare reality of her life.

...

"Holy crap, what did they put in this wine, vodka?" Desperately trying to hold back a laugh, Jane took a deep breath and focused on an invisible point in the distance. They had finished the visit an hour ago but the quietness of the winery was such that they had decided to stay on the domaine a bit longer. Sadly, all the tables in the shadows were already taken and they had had no choice but to settle on the terrace that was now in the sun. "I'm tipsy."

"There is a reason why I told you to take it easy but of course you had to gulp down your first glass at speed light as if your life depended on it."

The absence of reproach in Maura's voice made Jane smile. As a matter of fact, Maura seemed amused by her slightly intoxicated state. There was nothing serious about it either. She simply had to let the time pass by, eat a bit more and then she would come back to the hotel for a well deserved nap.

"What will you keep in mind from this trip to Greece?" Maura winced at her own question. She did not want to sound solemn. She was just trying to make conversation. "I mean... What kind of memories will you bring back home?"

It smelled of the end of the summer - of the end of vacation time - when every single day suddenly reflects the bitter passing of time. It isn't time yet to pack but little by little furtive glimpses of life shows up again to remember people that whatever they are living now is only a parenthesis in their existence.

"You."

Jane wouldn't have been able to say if it was the alcohol or a sudden boldness she had always had within herself but she blurted it out without the slightest hesitation. She had even locked her eyes with Maura's hazel ones and the tone of her voice couldn't have been more serious, more honest.

"Oh..." The confession took Maura completely aback. She hadn't expected Jane to be the romantic kind, even after too many glasses of wine. She grabbed an olive and chewed on it. Why had she even asked such a thing in the first place? The only one to blame for her discomfort was herself, after all. She was paying for her ridiculous boldness. "This is... This nice. Although you can skip the compliments. I am going to assume that you are now aware of the fact you don't need much to get me into your bed. There is no need to flirt with me anymore. You have already won at this game."

Jane started to laugh nervously. She was convinced that the waitress had overheard Maura and that was the reason why she was now staring at them a bit mysteriously. Suspiciously.

"And you... What ahem... What are you gonna keep in mind from all this?"

At least if Jane inversed the roles, they would both forget the blatant self-confidence Maura had whenever it came to her sexual life. She was as much at ease with it as Jane could barely dare to put words on the way they cuddled every night before falling asleep.

Opposites attract. If she had ever doubted it, Jane was now convinced that it wasn't a lie.

"I don't know yet... I will let you know the moment we are on the plane. This trip hasn't come to an end yet. There are probably many moments left to be lived and who knows if – among them – one won't rise and make me be able to say that this is the one; the moment I won't ever forget...?"

Jane couldn't help nodding in silence. She didn't have to reply. What for? She absolutely knew what Maura was talking about because this was exactly what she thought the moment they had kissed for the first time. A light had flickered in her head. The brightest one of her life.


	21. An Evening With The Guys

**Author's note: Thank you all for the reviews (for the Wiki guest: 'chaise longe' is an American assimilated barbarism, the actual word is 'chaise-longue' which is a gallicism; as a linguistic nerd, I prefer to use the gallicism instead of the assimilated barbarism****)**

_**"I am certainly not a domestic queen!" Maura Isles.**_

**Chapter Twenty-One – An Evening With The Guys**

"They don't live at the restaurant?" Aware of the ridiculousness of her question, Jane rolled her eyes then raised a hand in the air to apologize before giggling quietly. "I don't mean inside the restaurant but the day you took me there, we had to cross a house. Whose was it?"

"Oh it's Kostos' bapi's house... He and Michael live a bit further up another street by the night club we went to. Do you remember it?"

Jane nodded and plunged her hands in the pockets of her jeans. She followed Maura without adding anything and simply tried to enjoy the quietness of Oia now that the sun was down.

Of course the streets weren't completely empty but a pleasing serenity seemed to float around nonetheless. Some people were having dinner at the terrace of the taverns while others were wandering from one shop to another one looking for postcards and souvenirs.

They finally stopped just after the old wind mill and Maura knocked on a door painted in pink. Bright pink. The house looked like a typical one from the Cyclades: white with a terrace roof and an indoor patio. The door flew opened and Kostos appeared.

"Hey, good evening! You arrive just in the middle of a cooking emergency. Please, come in." He barely motioned Jane and Maura to come in before rushing through the patio to reach the large kitchen where another man was trying to get rid of an impressive dose of smoke. "The oven went a bit crazy, sorry."

Maura set down the bottle of wine on a table and went to hug the stranger. Jane assumed that it was Michael. He was in their age and in spite of a tan that betrayed years of living in the Greek sun, he looked very British; rather good-looking, sporting an elegant casualness.

"Jane... This is Michael. Michael, this is Jane my..." Maura's cheeks turned red. She cleared her voice hoping to sweep away whatever she had wanted to say and let a nervous laugh hit the air. "Jane. It is Jane."

A bit intimidated but nonetheless happy to meet the only person on Earth she would have never assumed to exist, Jane went to shake Michael's hand warmly.

They had come back to the hotel in the early afternoon only to see that Kostos had left them a message. He and Michael invited them at home for dinner. The attention was sweet so Jane and Maura had immediately accepted.

Needless to say that the threat Jane might have felt once towards Kostos had completely vanished and she was more than ready to welcome him into her life. As long as Michael was around, something told her that she didn't risk big.

"Nice to meet you, Michael. Can we help you?" Although it was more basic politeness than anything else. Jane knew absolutely nothing regarding ovens. "What happened?"

"No, don't be worried. Everything is under control. Let's just say the oven decided to play a trick on us and turned into the infamous chimney of the Vatican. Well... Black smoke... Looks like we don't have another pope!"

Jane burst out laughing and accepted the glass of wine that Kostos held out to her. She had taken a nap in the afternoon and was in a good mood to now spend a nice evening with Maura's friends.

As a matter of fact, her curiosity was piqued and she hoped that this dinner would be the occasion for her to learn a few things about the one she knew as the chief medical examiner of Massachusetts.

There had to be some things Maura hadn't told her.

"We set up the table in the patio, is it okay for you? There is lemon essential oil all around so it keeps the mosquitos at bay. Besides, they don't like our paper lamps so you should be spared."

Bottle in hand, Kostos walked to the patio he had just crossed to check the kitchen damage and motioned a large table.

Candles had been lit up while multicolored electric tinsels and paper lanterns brought a colorful touch to the white place. Maura sat down in one of the fluffy armchairs and started sipping on her drink. She seemed very at ease. Jane held back a smile. How many times had she come to their place, exactly?

"Did you enjoy Sigalas? We have a good deal with them for the restaurant. George, the owner, really is a nice guy."

Michael joined them and put down on the table a tray of different Greek starters. Everything was homemade. Jane barely repressed a moan of pleasure. She was hungry and the dishes looked absolutely delicious.

"It's your day off, Kostos. Don't talk about work..." Michael sat down and shook his head at Jane. "He can't stop. I'm engaged to a workaholic. Small wonder why he and Maura get along so much, they're obsessed with their respective jobs."

Jane smiled at him timidly before casting a glance at Maura. There was no reproach whatsoever in Michael's voice. As a matter of fact, he seemed amused and simply in the mood to tease his partner as well as his friend.

It was fair, a rather innocent game.

"You're a homicide detective, right? This is cool..."

What had Maura exactly told the guys about her? Jane nodded and tried to not think about the fact that she, herself, didn't know much about Michael and Kostos when apparently Maura had been very talkative about her. The situation was slightly unbalanced.

"Yes, I work for the BPD; the Boston Police Department. That's how Maura and I got to meet. We work with each other."

"Isn't it hard to work with your significant other?" Kostos held out the tray full of starters to Jane and offered her to grab something to eat. "I don't know... I love Michael – a lot – but I'm kind of glad that we don't work together. I'm not sure it'd be a good idea for us!"

Michael laughed at Kostos' comment and immediately nodded to confirm what his partner had just said. He then turned to Jane and winked.

"I'm a financial analyst. I mean I was before we moved here. Now I'm a financial analyst journalist and work from home. You see the roof up there? It's my office. It's nice, isn't it?"

Jane nodded.

"Very... Sadly my office has another kind of view and I don't even mention the crime scenes or Maura's autopsy room!" Was she going too far? Jane bit her lower lip. Perhaps talking about homicides just before having dinner was not a very good idea. "Do you enjoy living here? It's very different from England."

"We miss the London vibe from time to time but we're actually doing very fine, here. I guess we have adapted to Greece quite well. What do you think, Kostos?"

Kostos nodded and gladly welcomed on his lap a gray cat that began to purr the moment it settled against him. Jane couldn't help but smile at the scene. There was something so peaceful that emanated from this house – from Kostos and Michael's life – that a quiet part of her wished nothing but to experience the same now with Maura. They had Beacon Hill and even before this trip to Greece, Jane already spent a lot of time at Maura's but she nonetheless didn't live there. Not officially. Yet when she looked at both men, she knew that it was exactly what she wanted.

"Do you live together? Maura's been rather quiet about the two of you. I mean, she summed it up for me but tell me all about you, Jane. Maura's a great host. How is it to live with the queen of domesticity?"

Jane was about to reply when Maura's gasp stopped her right away. Slightly upset, Maura straightened on her seat and shook her head at Kostos.

"I am certainly not a domestic queen! I just like my home to look presentable although with the life I lead... I have to say that most of the times, my home is anything but that." Maura cast a glance at Jane to prevent her from saying that it wasn't true. They simply didn't have the same definition of the word 'presentable'. She put down her glass of wine on the table and took a deep breath. "We don't live together."

Her voice had lowered of an octave and had thus betrayed a thousand feelings Jane didn't know what to think about. Was there regret in them? Hope? Unless it was only shyness.

"How many times do I have to tell you about it, Maura?" Kostos shook his head and grabbed Michael's hand to hold it tightly. "You're too independent. Open yourself a bit... Living with someone is the best thing that can ever happen to you, especially when you know the feelings are true."

The feelings. Jane heavily blushed and desperately tried to hide behind her glass of wine. Thankfully the paper lanterns brought a very discreet light that allowed her to somehow remain in the dark.

They hadn't talked about their feelings yet. As a matter of fact, she didn't really know about hers. No, Maura wasn't a fling but she still had to say the words; she still had to openly talk about what they were living.

The smile that played on Maura's lips shone of a bitter beauty. It reached her eyes only to light up a flame of melancholy in her pupils.

She looked at Jane almost apologetically. She knew that what Kostos had just said was delicate considering that they hadn't even spent a week together as an item. He couldn't guess, though.

"So when is your wedding? Have you picked up a date yet? It will take place in London, right? I am looking forward to attending it."

The lack of transition Maura went for didn't fool Jane.

Maura felt awkward and not really at ease to talk about their singular relationship. All she wanted now was to give a new direction to the evening conversation; to something safer. The delicacy with which she had swept away Kostos' comment caused Jane's heart to ache a bit. She felt sorry for her lover.

Putting her fears aside – her insecurities – Jane stretched her arm and let her hand brush Maura's knee before squeezing it tightly. Tenderly. She did not say anything nor did she look at Maura. Hopefully her gesture was explicit enough to let Maura understand that everything was fine and that they had all the time in the world to talk about all this.


	22. A Fair Game

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the messages and reviews!**

**...**

_**"It's worth a zillion donkeys." Jane Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter Twenty-Two – A Fair Game**

Jane had never been a morning person. Even as a child when her brothers screamed of delight because snow would have fallen during the night, it was a challenge to get her out of bed. And things hadn't changed now that she was an adult. As a matter of fact, the situation had even worsened.

If someone dared to wake her up on a day off before she had decided that it was time to get up then chances were that her legendary bad mood would turn the day into a nightmare for anyone who would cross her path.

Yet on this peaceful and sunny morning in Santorini, she happened to wake up before Maura.

Still a bit sleepy, Jane looked at her partner and remained still. She had particularly enjoyed their evening at Kostos and Michael's. The dinner had been friendly, sweet. It was the first time that she and Maura had been invited somewhere as a couple. Perhaps it was a detail but for Jane it meant a lot and she had come back to the hotel late in the night thinking about nothing but how Kostos and Michael's life was the one she really wanted to have with Maura.

It had been a revelation. A sweet yet powerful one.

The weather forecast had predicted a very hot day and she could already feel the heat of the sun pierce through the shutters. Subconsciously, Maura had kicked the blanket away and lay now on her back, her head turned towards the small window that overlooked the cobblestone stairs outside.

A delicate serenity embraced her features, an innocent one somehow.

Seduced by the image of her lover sleeping peacefully by her side, Jane let her eyes wander down Maura's body until a few inches of bare skin – on her stomach – caught her attention. The top of Maura's pajamas had been pulled up slightly during her sleep revealing thus well-shaped abs and a firm skin.

Jane smiled and barely pondered the idea. It was almost 9.30am anyway so Maura wouldn't take it badly if the gesture happened to wake her up. As a matter of fact, she would even probably be mortified to have overslept for so long as she usually was an early riser.

Jane bent over with a lot of care and closed her eyes as she approached Maura's bare stomach. She closed her eyes and let the smell of her partner's body lotion – monoi oil – go to her head. She could feel her body heat that emanated from her skin, now so close to her lips.

The first contact turned out to be subtle, delicate. Furtive. It almost passed unnoticed. She brushed Maura's stomach with her lips to steal a kiss as close as she could from her pelvis. Jane looked up to make sure that her feather gesture hadn't caused Maura to wake up. The absence of reaction comforted her and she planted a second kiss on the stomach, only with more eagerness this time.

The touch lasted longer and resounded loudly in the air. It troubled Maura's regular breathing and Jane smiled brightly as she heard the small gasp pass her lover's lips. She took it as a signal to go on and kiss her anew yet she passed on top of Maura this time and didn't hesitate to make a full body contact with her.

She knew that the previous kiss had woken her up. She could feel it. Maura's body was reacting under her touch.

Goosebumps, a back slightly arched. A multitude of hints gave Jane the desire to pursue the morning exploration of her partner's body. So she did, a smile lighting up her features.

Her fingers brushed Maura's sides as her lips began to draw invisible circles on her lower stomach. Endless kisses which boldness grew with every second. The tip of a tongue furtively making contact with the skin, the delicate touch of teeth against it.

She felt Maura move her leg to give her better access to her body and soon Jane felt her partner's hand in her hair. This time all the doubts had flown away: Maura was officially awake and eager to take part in what Jane had initiated.

Following a very slow pace that hopefully matched Maura's sleepy state, Jane travelled up her stomach. She pulled up the cotton top as she reached her lover's ribcage and felt the curves of Maura's breasts under the palm of her hands.

Neither of them had spoken yet. The silence was delicate, arousing as it now emphasized nothing but the heaviness of Maura's breathing. A moan escaped her lips the moment she felt Jane's kisses reach her breasts and she spread her legs again before taking her top off once and for all. Her sensitivity was such that the mere piece of clothing had now turned into a barrier she needed to get rid of immediately.

She let her feet go up Jane's calves and arched her back as her partner's lips closed another invisible path – an arousing one – on her nipples and the tip of a tongue began to play with her weakened self-control.

Maura had tried to remain as quiet as she could until now but Jane's playful caresses were such that a moan ended up passing her lips; a low and relieving one.

Jane's giggles rose in the bedroom. Maura swallowed hard. She was completely at the mercy of Jane's hands and lips. Her sleepy brain had shut down to make sure that she would focus on nothing but the awakening of her feelings.

It was a delicious torture.

"This isn't funny..."

Jane finally resumed her exploration and headed up towards Maura's collarbone. Not that it was any better and she knew it by now.

The second Jane would make contact with her neck, Maura knew that the countdown to her ultimate release would be activated. Her neck was a very sensitive part of her body, for whatever reason. A mere kiss on it – a bold one – would be enough to drive her on the edge.

She got rid of her underwear in anticipation and proceeded to undress Jane in the process. Perhaps she wasn't leading the game this time but she still wanted to feel nothing but her partner's skin against her very own shivering one. And her arousal.

There was nothing like being able to tease Jane while she tried to make her very own pleasure last even if it wasn't easy in the end.

"It's worth a zillion donkeys."

As much as Jane's hot breath against her ear sent a shiver down her spine and turned her on even more, Maura couldn't help laughing. They had come across a group of donkeys the night before and Jane had wondered how much could one of them cost. She assumed that Jo Friday and Bass would probably enjoy the company of a third friend in Beacon Hill.

"There won't be any don-..." Maura's gasp put an abrupt end to her sentence the moment she felt Jane's fingers plunge between her legs to brush her aroused flesh.

Of course she knew that Jane was joking about the donkeys but she simply wanted to play along and keep alive their innocent banter about the incongruous idea of purchasing the local star of the Cyclades.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying desperately to relax in spite of the increasing sensation that was now burning in her stomach. A placid smile had embraced her lips. Its variation seemed to follow the intensity of her feelings, the way she now moved her hips to match the pace of Jane's caresses.

A loud growl passed her lips the moment she felt Jane's kisses against her neck. The combination of the touches were harder and harder to handle properly. Maura was wide awake now; her senses were boiling.

She closed the distance between her and Jane's body and wrapped her legs around her partner's waist to hold her tightly against her hot skin but her new position actually brought even more strength and intensity to the caresses.

Maura bit her lower lip and arched her back again as the contact turned too powerful to be handled as it should. Her nails dug into Jane's lower back. She held her breath.

A last touch against her neck – moist lips against her jaw – and Maura abandoned herself to the warm wave of pleasure that rushed through her body.

Clutched to Jane, she froze and welcomed the surge of feelings with an ecstatic quietness. She couldn't speak, she couldn't make the slightest sound. Her functions had shut down completely.

The exhilaration lasted for a while – a whirl of feelings rising in the air before spreading all around – and little by little Maura finally came back to her senses. She was hot, her body glimmering in sweat. Breathless, she locked her eyes with Jane's and forced her to roll on a side with her.

Her smile melted in a deep kiss; the first one they actually shared this morning.

"_Kalimera_*..."

Jane laughed quietly. She hadn't expected Maura to say anything, even less something as casual as 'good morning'. Yet it was fair. After all, they hadn't proceeded to such ritual yet.

"Are you okay? You're all red..."

Maura nodded but she was completely unable to add anything else. Not just yet. The beats of her heart were still going way too fast for her to speak. The care that showed in Jane's voice went straight to her heart though and she kissed her anew. Deeply, passionately.

"It will pass." Not really eager to break their embrace and start the day, Maura settled against Jane and closed her eyes before nodding at her partner. "It will pass."

She just needed a few minutes; the required lapse of time to come back to reality and leave behind the cloud of oxytocin that had invaded her mind. Then she would just resume her kissing and one thing leading to another, something told her that she would probably end up bringing Jane on the edge as well.

After all, it was only a fair game.

"Is this how you always start your day when you wake up early?"

Maura's question made Jane laugh. She bit her lips and pretended to think very strongly about it. A few seconds passed by. She shrugged.

"Maybe we've finally found a way to motivate me to become an early bird... All it took is a forty-year research. See? Easy. A breeze. A complete breeze!"

It was just a sweet morning, a light one. It wasn't made for long sentences and confessions of all kind. That's why Jane didn't add anything. That's why she didn't tell Maura how much of an impact the evening before had had on her life.

It wasn't the right time. Not just yet.

But it didn't change anything to the fact that she was certain of what she now wanted. The reason why she had ended up in Maura's arms remained blurry but she couldn't care less. She happened to enjoy the whole thing, a lot. And she was more than eager to make sure that the rest of their life would look like this morning.

...

Kalimera: Hello


	23. From Armeni

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews and messages, they are really appreciated. I think there are three or four chapters left to this story.**

**...**

_**"Sometimes you wish nothing but to press a replay button to start it all again from the very beginning." Maura Isles.**_

**Chapter Twenty-Three – From Armeni**

"I cannot believe that you made me buy another kebab when there are so many very healthy dishes in Greece. With French fries, besides!"

But the so-called reproach that showed in Maura's voice got swept away as soon as a bright smile curled up her lips. She was in a good mood. The sun was shining – the temperatures were hot – and she had spent a perfect morning in Jane's arms. It almost looked too good to be true, as a matter of fact. At no moment whatsoever in her life had she already felt such serenity embrace her with the strength she was falling for now little by little.

It was a first. Jane was a first. All of this was a first; a sort of revelation.

"Two kebabs in two weeks. C'mon, Maura! This means nothing... If I'd been alone here, you could be sure I'd have eaten one every single day of my stay." Anyway with the amount of stairs, Oia had turned into a free open air step class. "You won't put on weight and your arteries will do just fine." Jane grabbed her can of beer and took a sip before unfolding her legs. She squinted her eyes at the sea. "I'm gonna miss this blue... The intensity of the light..."

Their flight was scheduled on Sunday which meant they only had two full days left in Santorini. Why did the time have to fly by like this? Of course Jane somehow missed the BPD and her family but she wasn't very eager to go back home; not just yet. Because of the sun, because of this blue that she would never be able to forget.

And because she knew the impact America was supposed to have on the relation she was now living with Maura.

They had to talk about it. They were now running out of time to do it. They didn't have to define the next twenty years nor the color of the bed sheet they would soon buy together but simply try to open up about their feelings and what they wanted in the near future. The archipelago offered a safety that Boston didn't have. The freedom of Greece would soon be swept away by a thousand details that determined their daily lives. Work, colleagues. Friends.

The parenthesis of Santorini was nothing like whatever was waiting for them on the other side of the Atlantic.

"We will come back..." Hope rose in Maura's voice, quietly. Focused on the ribbon of blue that spread in front of her, she grabbed Jane's hand to squeeze it and giggled. "Kostos and Michael will kill us anyway if we don't. It isn't a choice but a matter of death or life."

Jane appreciated her partner's effort to break the slight tension by making a joke. She knew how much it cost Maura to do it. It was not natural to her. On the contrary. It was a real challenge even after years spent with Jane learning about her innate irony and sarcasm.

"You know what?" Jane adjusted her Aviators on top of her nose and pursed her lips. "Let's just stay here. Why coming back to Boston? What for? We're fine here. Perfectly fine!"

"I am afraid that I would get bored if I worked for the morgue of Thira. Have you seen the size of the hospital? It is proportionate to the amount of autopsies the medical examiner performs."

And needless to say that Maura would never be anything else but a medical examiner. She wasn't made to come across patients who were still alive. This wasn't even an option. As for Jane, it wasn't any better. The homicide rate couldn't be lower in Santorini.

Jane pouted and folded her legs to lean her chin on top of her knees.

"Looks like we don't have a choice, do we? Boston, here we come..."

Maura offered her partner an apologetic smile.

It was cruel but they spoke more and more about their imminent departure. Even their lunch on peaceful Armeni Bay – far from the crowd of tourists that had invaded the village up the cliff – seemed to now be taking this direction. Their anxiety was showing. Loudly. Too loudly.

"Sometimes you wish nothing but to press a replay button to start it all again from the very beginning. Do you know about this feeling?" Yet she didn't wait for Jane to nod. Her question was pure rhetoric. "I know that we haven't lost five years but... But the truth is that I wish it had happened earlier. Because I am truly happy."

Her cheeks began to burn. A bit embarrassed by her own confession, Maura looked down at the ground and swallowed hard. She had never been good at expressing her feelings. Jane didn't master it either but it was hardly comforting.

What Maura had just said was the closest to what she now managed to let pass her lips. It had only been a week, after all. No. As a matter of fact, not even a week. She couldn't already talk about wedding and children.

Or family.

The last word caused Maura to bite her lips. She cast a very furtive glance at Jane and took a deep breath. It was now or never. She knew it.

"You know I have been thinking about it for a while now and... I guess it would be better for us to keep a low profile for... Some time... Once we are back to Boston. Unless you hadn't planned on... I mean, you know... Unless it is just a Santorini thing for you, of course. Then I don't want to force you into anything but... Ahem... In case it is more than a two-week parenthesis... In case you see it as something more... Then I think that it would be better for us to wait for a while before... You know... Before making anything clear to... To anyone...?"

Maura rolled her eyes. Not being able to express her feelings properly was one thing but lacking so much self-confidence that her speech sounded nothing but confusing and uncertain was another story.

How old was she, dammit? Twelve or thirty-nine?

But at least she had said it. Somehow. They needed some time to adapt back to Boston and to find a routine in their new relationship status. She didn't have doubts about it – she knew that it could last if it was what Jane wanted too – but the situation was such that it would nonetheless bring big changes to what had been their life until now and it did require some time.

She was sure of it.

"Oh." Jane swallowed hard and straightened up. She hadn't expected Maura to come up with this talk she had been postponing over and over. "Ahem..." She ran a hand through her hair and frowned. Maura's suggestion was fair or at least it would be fair if Jane hadn't already broken the news to her mother a few days earlier. "Well..."

"Yes?" The way Maura rushed in to reply betrayed her latent nervousness. She turned to Jane and forced a smile. "You saw it as a fling? I am so sorry. Then forget what I have just said. It isn't important."

Jane shook her head vehemently. What had she done? It had always been clear in her head that she should have talked to Maura about it before confessing anything to the only woman in Boston who was unable to keep a secret but the truth was that it had come up by itself. She hadn't done it on purpose. A part of her had just needed to be reassured and – no matter what – her mother was the only one able to bring her the required comfort she was lacking of at the time.

"No! No, it's not a fling! Actually, it's funny you're talkin' about it because ahem..." Jane let a nervous laugh pass her lips and hit the air. She leaned her head backwards – looking for some courage – then closed her eyes. "It's... You're right... You're very right. Unfortunately..." There she was. She couldn't stop now. "I might have already told ma' about it."

The silence that followed was not the effect that she had expected.

A gasp, a moan. Anything but this silence that she didn't know what to do of. It was stress inducing. Maura was probably looking for her words and nothing else. She always did that anyway. Her meticulousness was such that she didn't speak before being sure to have chosen the appropriate terms to express her thoughts.

"Excuse me?"

That wasn't either the kind of sentence Jane had hoped to hear. Maura's tone of voice had been cold, and shaking. She did sound surprised but absolutely not thrilled. There was nothing positive in her semblance of question.

On the contrary.

Feeling the urge to finally make eye contact with her partner, Jane turned her head around and properly looked at Maura.

"Ma' already knows about it..."

Angela and Maura were in excellent terms. As a matter of fact, they already shared a bond that had somehow reassured Jane. For once, the person she was dating knew who her mother was and did get along with her. It was a chance or at least it should have been one but by the way Maura was now staring at her – lips pursed and her features deep in an obvious anger – she wasn't so sure anymore.

"You told her about us...? About me?! Without letting me know first?" Maura's voice reached a higher octave. She was losing her nerves completely. Unexpectedly. "How dare you? This isn't how a relationship is supposed to work! You don't take decisions regarding your couple in your partner's back!"

Maura was now yelling which was taking Jane completely aback. Unable to say the slightest thing, she watched how Maura stood up and clenched her fists. She was angry. There was not even an ounce of pain in her eyes. No. Nothing. Nothing but anger; an incomprehensible one.

Still lost somehow in her fog of incomprehension, Jane tried to stand up to be at eye-level with her partner but Maura made a step backwards.

"Leave me alone!"

And before Jane had a chance to react, Maura had already turned on her heels and was running up the stairs of Armeni Bay to disappear in the labyrinth of streets of Oia.


	24. Let's Talk

**Author's note: Thank you all for your reviews, hopefully today's chapter will bring you the start to an explanation regarding Maura's reaction.**

**...**

_**"Have you lost your contact lenses along with your logic?" Constance Isles. **_

**Chapter Twenty-Four – Let's Talk**

Maura had disappeared for long minutes now from her sight but Jane still couldn't take her eyes off the cobblestone stairs that led up to Oia. She was shocked. Astounded.

Since they had met five years earlier, Jane could count on the fingers of one hand the amount of times Maura had been angry. It just didn't fit in. It didn't match her temper. Maura was a quiet, cheerful person. Certainly not a fury who spent most of her time yelling.

Yet it was exactly what had just happened.

Completely disarmed, Jane stood up and looked around her. What was she supposed to do, now? She ran a hand through her hair and let a heavy sigh pass her lips.

Armeni Bay was empty. It was still lunch time and most of tourists preferred to sit at the terrace of a restaurant rather than to go down by the sea. As for Jane, she was not hungry anymore. She had eaten half of her kebab before Maura's outburst and she didn't feel like finishing it.

She put the leftovers back in the plastic bag with shaking hands. Had she ruined everything? Really?

A part of her could understand why Maura hadn't taken the news in a positive way. After all and just as Maura had said, decisions regarding a couple had to be taken by both partners. She hadn't done that. Instead, she had rushed to a third party and had revealed something about Maura's private life that was nobody's business but hers.

It was a bad move, a very bad move. But the outburst nonetheless didn't match with the person Maura was. Because she wasn't upset nor disappointed. No. She was angry, very angry.

A foreign noise on her right caused Jane to turn around. A group of donkeys had showed up from nowhere and was now waiting in the shadow patiently. Jane squinted her eyes at the scene and finally approached when she realized that their owner hadn't made it down to the bay already.

And then she saw it, right in the middle of the group. They all looked the same though but for some reason, she would have been able to recognize Dongu anywhere in the world; even among a thousand donkeys.

"Oh!" The smile that played on her lips vanished as soon as she realized that she couldn't share the moment with Maura. Her absence stirred up a burning wound within Jane's heart. She swallowed hard. "I've screwed it up..."

Her voice had barely risen in a murmur full of fear but it turned out to be loud enough for the donkeys to turn their heads to her. She couldn't say that they understood what she had just said – especially since she hadn't expressed herself in Greek – but the fact she suddenly had their full attention made her let her guard down. Just a bit.

She sat on the very last step of the cobblestone stairs – right on a tiny spot in the shadows – and nodded at her unexpected interlocutors.

"The worst of all is that... I love her. I'm in love with her. I have no idea how it happened – nor when it did if you want me to be completely honest – but it's there. I know it is. I can feel it." Jane touched her chest just where her heart was and shrugged apologetically. "She makes my life looks so bright, and meaningful. It's just the way it is. I don't have a hold over that. But I'm too stupid and coward to tell her all these things and look where I am, now..."

Jane cast a brief glance in her back to make sure that nobody was coming. The last thing she wanted was to be seen lamenting to a group of donkeys all by herself. There was no need for people to think that she had lost it.

Because she hadn't.

Or at least not really.

"What should I do?" Alright. Summing up her story to donkeys was one thing but asking them for advice was another one. She was about to stand up when a donkey hit her shoulder with its head. The contact was gently but it nonetheless startled her. "What have I done to you? Seriously?!" It was Dongu, her Dongu. "Oh... I'm not wearing any bath towel, don't insist." She paused and checked the animals one by one. "You'd better not tell this to anyone."

...

"You were in Paros all this time and you didn't tell me?"

Maura frowned and grabbed the granita the waitress had just brought her. She wrinkled her nose in disapproval but didn't insist. What for? It was how her mother was, anyway.

She could have been in Santorini that they wouldn't have come across each other either. Communication wasn't in their habits. They were extremely bad at it.

"You didn't tell me that you were going to Greece, Maura. How do you want me to guess? You need to speak if you want people to not disappoint you, darling." Constance rolled her eyes and nonchalantly lit a cigarette before leaning on what Maura guessed was a deck chair. The laptop screen was too dark in the sun. She could not see properly. "Anyway, why do you look as sad as the day we told you that you wouldn't get a puppy? You are in the Cyclades. This isn't a place for tears. You know that with the sun, it will only make your eyes puffy."

Maura nodded and forced a smile. Why had she required a Skype session with her mother? She knew that it would be almost as stressing as what she was now going through with Jane. This wasn't a good idea. Not at all.

"Believe it or not but it wasn't my intention to be." Maura's boldness made her blush. She had never used such a tone with her mother. It wasn't appropriate, to say the least. Eager to not argue with another person within two hours, she rose a hand in the air to apologize then shook her head. "Something happened with Jane, something meaningful. But I have run away from it after making a scene because... I don't know... Probably because I am scared of what it means."

Was it a gin tonic that Constance was now drinking? Maura squinted her eyes and approached the screen. She should have chosen a table in the shadows. She couldn't see anything from where she was sitting.

"Why are coming so close to the screen? Have you lost your contact lenses along with your logic?" But the smile that appeared on Constance's lips swept away any doubt regarding her intentions towards her daughter. She wasn't being snappy. She was simply trying to make Maura relax a bit. "What exactly happened? Don't take it badly but you are too vague for me to understand what you are talking about."

Maura bit her lower lip with great hesitation. She and her mother rarely talked about her romantic life. As a matter of fact, she wasn't even sure that they had ever shared a conversation on the matter. It was strange to finally give in after almost forty years of life.

"We got closer... A lot. I mean, a lot closer not 'a lot' like in 'many, many times'. I mean it happened several times but just the average amount of times, not..." What on Earth was she doing? She wasn't being herself. Since when did she have issues to talk about her sexual life? This was a first. Of course, it had to happen now. "We slept together. And it isn't a fling. As a matter of fact, it is anything but that."

"Please, tell me that you didn't call – Skype – me to have my blessing. We are in 2015, Maura. How can you be so old school? Have sex with whomever you want. Fall in love with whomever you want. Jane is stubborn but she brought you a lot of things. You have changed a lot these past few years and it is thanks to her. She is... She really is a good person. So go have sex – go live your life – and if one day the two of you decide to get married then let me know in advance to make sure that I will book the date on my busy agenda."

Alright. Maura briefly closed her eyes and tried to register what her mother had just told her. All in all, she couldn't say that she was surprised. She had never really hidden her attraction to women so letting her know that she had slept with Jane wasn't much of a big deal but the reaction she had had in Armeni Bay was and she needed to talk about it.

"She let her mother know about us without telling me first. I know Jane... She might be impulsive but not when it comes to relationships. The fact she told Angela means a lot of things regarding her feelings and... And also the kind of hopes that she has over our... Over our relation."

"Shouldn't you be happy? At least it means that you aren't just a fling to her eyes...! It probably took her a lot to let her mother know. Did you ask her why she did that in the first place?"

Maura shook her head and shamefully looked down at the keyboard. She hadn't asked for any kind of detail. Instead, she had thrown a fit and had run away from a thousand things that she was too coward to face properly.

"No... No, I did not. I ahem... I simply took it badly. But you don't understand!" Maura cast a glance at the couple that decided to sit at the table next to hers. She didn't want them to overhear anything. It was way too personal. "Very few people in Boston know that I don't exclusive date men and with the job I have – the responsibilities that come within it – there is a lot of exposure..."

"Are you telling me that you don't assume who you are? I definitely understand the privacy part but I don't see what your sexual orientation has to do with it... This isn't the way your father and I raised you. Since when should you be ashamed of yourself? Who cares if you sleep with women?"

Maura raised her index finger to stop her mother. Constance had officially lost herself in a monologue about humans' rights and she didn't seem eager to stop any time soon.

"I am not ashamed! But I still think that I should have been the one saying it. Not Jane."

"Who do you think you are fooling, Maura? I know you better than you think. The issue isn't that Jane revealed this side of you but what it does mean regarding her feelings for you. This is what you are shamefully scared of... The rest is just a poor excuse. You are afraid of this relationship that Jane – and probably yourself – want because it means a lot... You are scared of living... You are scared of loving and being loved in return. Be honest."


	25. I Am Sorry

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews.**

**...**

_**"Did you know that in France rubber ducks are usually vibrators?" Maura Isles.**_

**Chapter Twenty-Five – I Am Sorry**

It was getting late and Jane didn't see herself stay outside for the rest of the night. It was ridiculous. She had to face Maura, no matter what. They had to talk, to open up about themselves and make things clear once and for all. It was ridiculous to avoid each other for any longer.

She slowly took the stairs that led to their studio. The light was on. It pierced through the shutters of the living-room area and slid along the terrace; on the clothes they had hung up earlier in the morning. So many things had happened since the moment they had left Atlantis Villa to have lunch in Armeni Bay. The day had been long, emotional.

"Hi..." Jane passed the door of the studio and stopped as soon as she noticed Maura's presence at the kitchen table.

Maura had been waiting for a long time now. Of course she could have walked the streets of Oia to find Jane but something had told her to remain at the hotel.

Perhaps Jane needed time just as she had needed some herself. She abandoned the contemplation of the Caldera through the open window of the kitchen and nodded at her partner. Timidly. Shamefully. It was now or never.

She had to apologize. She knew it.

She was the one who had thrown a scene, the one who had run away like a fury without the slightest explanation.

Maybe Jane did hold her part of responsibility in all of this but it didn't change the fact that she, Maura, felt atrociously guilty. And nervous. Her anxiety was palpable and it made her feel dizzy.

"Are you hungry?" The ridiculousness of her question caused her to close her eyes. She couldn't allow herself to be clumsy; not now. The moment was way too important for it. "I mean..."

Jane shook her head and set down a plastic bag on the small table. She hadn't had dinner but couldn't care less about it.

"No, I'm good."

"Fine."

Maura's tone of voice confused Jane. She hadn't acknowledged her well being but had seemed to correct her instead. Jane frowned ad shook her head.

"What?"

"You are fine, not good. The appropriate adjective is 'fine', not... Not 'good'." But suddenly aware of the unimportant character of her remark, Maura raised a hand to apologize. "Never mind." She grabbed a bottle of Ouzo and poured some in two glasses. She held one out to Jane and offered her a seat. "My mother says hello... She is quite looking forward to seeing you tomorrow."

Jane blinked. This was not the kind of information she had expected.

Maura hadn't begged her mother to come to Santorini, had she? She leaned over the table with great uncertainty and squinted her eyes at Maura.

"I must have missed the story...? Why is your mother coming here? She's not gonna kick my ass, right? She's not super muscled but she still looks rather tough."

Maura burst out laughing. This was exactly what she needed, what they both needed: Jane's sense of humor. It put a definitive end to the stormy atmosphere of the day. Yet everything wasn't completely over. Maura still wanted to talk to Jane about her feelings.

"No. She happens to be on an island nearby so she has decided to visit us for the day, tomorrow. I really hope that you don't mind. I couldn't tell her to not come, it wasn't very polite, you know..." Maura swallowed hard. She liked the way her and Jane's voices were calm. They floated in the air like a delicate caress. It was lovely, comforting. "Just as it was not very polite from me to run away this morning. I am sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I sincerely apologize for it."

Jane shrugged, very matter-of-factly. She didn't know what to say. She had never liked these moments of confession. They tended to scare her; for whatever reason.

"I shouldn't have said anything to ma'. You were right. It's just that I kinda panicked and I needed her advice... That's why I told her about... About us. I didn't mean to... You know... And I'm sure that she's kept it for herself because she understood how much it meant to me. She can be quiet when she wants to. It rarely happens but I'm really sure she's not said it to anyone. Trust me."

Alright. Perhaps Jane didn't like 'confession time' but she surely was getting better at it because the words were passing her lips with great confidence. She was being sincere and her sudden courage to assume everything like that warmed up her heart in a very unexpected way; a charming one, actually.

"I didn't really run away from you because you had broken the news to your mother. I mean... Maybe I did because of it, to an extent. But it isn't the main reason that pushed me to do what I did. I just ahem..." Maura's eyes stopped on the plastic bag that Jane had dropped on the table. It was blue, a very random bag. What had she bought? "What if it doesn't work between us? What if – for some reason – you get tired of me and we break up? What if... I don't want to ruin the relation we have always had because I think that it is a very unique one and we should cherish it."

Jane swallowed hard. She wasn't sure to understand what Maura was trying to say. She had a vague idea about it but it was definitely not something she wanted to hear.

"So you prefer to call it an end now? Just to... To avoid to screw it?"

The mere fact of thinking about such possibility made Jane's heart ache in a way she hadn't imagined to ever be possible.

She took a deep breath and tried to remain as calm as she could but it didn't change the path of her tears. Her eyes were now burning. She wouldn't be able to hold them back for very long now.

"What?! No! No, this isn't what I mean! I want... I want to be with you the way we have been this week but I need to let you know that it nonetheless terrifies me. We both know that my previous relationships have not really turned out to be very successful so what if it happens again, with you? I can accept it from a third party because these people just come and go into my life but not you, Jane. This isn't what you do. You are here to remain... So I can't afford to lose you as well."

Oddly, this wasn't something Jane had thought about. Every single time that she had dated someone, she had lost herself in the same considerations but not this time. Because it was Maura. Her instinct told her that it would be different. And she trusted herself on that point.

"I won't let you go."

Jane's reply was a bit stupid – very cheesy – but at least she meant it. She would have done anything for Maura. As a matter of fact, she had already done a lot more for her than what she would do for anyone else in the world.

"This is the reason why I didn't want people to know about us. Not just yet. You know, just in case something happened. I didn't want them to have pity for us if things didn't turn the way we had planned them. It has nothing to do with you... Nothing to do with our public image... I have simply been so unlucky until now that I can't but be careful. I don't want to hurt you, even if involontarily. I don't want anything bad to happen to you because of me."

A surge of boldness invaded Jane; a very strong feeling that passed underneath her skin and rushed to her heart. She leaned over the table and pulled away from Maura's face a lock of blond hair. Then – with all the care in the world – she locked her eyes with her partner's hazel ones and smiled as brightly as she could. Reassuringly.

"I love you."

Her confession didn't take Maura aback. As if these words she had been waiting for since the very beginning, Maura grinned and leaned her forehead against her partner's.

Would things always be as easy as they were now? Probably not, but she couldn't care less. She felt stronger with Jane by her side, ready to face life and its adversities.

"I love you too..."

Maura's whisper died against Jane's lips as she closed the distance that separated the two of them with a delicate kiss. She let Jane's body heat wrap her up and abandoned herself to the embrace with a barely repressed pleasure.

"I have a question though."

Jane raised an eyebrow and waited for Maura to give further details to whatever was somehow bothering her now.

Had she forgotten something? They had talked and had opened up about their respective feelings. What else were they supposed to say?

"Yeah...?"

"What did you buy?"

Maura motioned the plastic bag and blushed. She didn't mean to be curious but she was now developing a slight obsession over the mysterious purchase.

"Oh!" Jane grabbed the bag and took a rubber donkey out of it. She observed it then gave it to Maura; a mischievous smile on her lips. "They also had rubber ducks but the donkey is Greek-er, you know. And look. I added its name, just there: Dongu. It's for you; some sort of I'm-sorry gift. We don't have a vase so I skipped the flowers."

Amused, Maura grabbed the children toy and studied it with attention. A pout was playing on her lips, lighting up till her eyes.

"Did you know that in France rubber ducks are usually vibrators? We had been staying in Paris, you would have got me a sextoy."

Jane's smile froze. She let a nervous laugh pass her lips and frowned, uncertain of the way she was supposed to react.

"... ... Charming... ..."


	26. In-Laws

**Author's note: Thank you all for the reviews and messages.**

**...**

_**"The only person who should be hitting on you, Jane, is my daughter." Constance Isles.**_

**Chapter Twenty-Six – In-Laws**

"You are very tanned. This blouse suits you. YOu look fantastic. Greece is being nice to you."

Jane politely nodded before laughing nervously. Maura had disappeared inside the little cafe for ten long minutes and the face-to-face with Constance was getting delicate to handle.

Everything had gone rather fine until now, though. They had picked up Maura's mother at the airport earlier in the morning and had taken a taxi to Thira.

After a short walk through the old town, Maura had decided to stop by to buy an iced coffee and there they were, now: trapped in a crowded and narrow street waiting for Maura to step out of a minuscule cafe with her drink.

"Thanks... It's ahem... A birthday present from Maura. It's a nice linen blouse, indeed."

As much as Maura had told her that she could dress casually for the day, Jane had insisted on stepping up her game a little bit. So she had chosen this white linen blouse and a pair of kaki linen shorts along with her Roman sandals. It still looked tragically casual compared to Constance's dress but at least she wasn't wearing worn jeans.

It could have been a lot worse.

"So it is your first trip to Greece, am I right? And you won it, besides?" Constance tilted her head and smiled at Jane. She looked very calm and serene. "Maura told me that Kostos was working hard. What a pity you couldn't spend more time with him. He is an adorable person."

Did Constance know about Michael? Jane pouted, at the mercy of her doubts. She didn't want to out Kostos. As a matter of fact, she didn't want to make any kind of mistake whatsoever.

Now that Constance knew that she and Maura were more than friends, Jane couldn't help thinking that she needed to be a lot more careful with what she said.

"He invited us for dinner, once. He owns a beautiful house in Oia. Have you ever been there? To his house, I mean."

Constance squinted her eyes and honestly seemed to ponder the question. She then finally shook her head after a long moment of hesitation.

"No, I haven't actually. He and Maura have been friends since forever. As a matter of fact, I guess that it is fair to say that for a long time Kostos has been my daughter's only friend... They saw each other every two year or so but every time my husband and I noticed this big change in Maura. She wasn't as shy as she usually was and she seemed to be full of life whenever she was with him. Just the way she now is with you."

The allusion made Jane blush. She couldn't say that she and Maura had been very explicit about the change of pace in their relationship since Constance had arrived. They hadn't touched, hadn't hold hands. At no moment had they showed any sign of affection in public. The situation was stressing, actually. It was the first time that a third party – a third party that wasn't connected to Greece but to their daily life – made it into their existence as a couple.

And the truth was that they hadn't had a lot of time to get ready for it.

"She means a lot to me."

Constance nodded. It was hard to say that she actually seemed touched by Jane's confession. She had mostly taken the comment as if it were the most common statement of the day.

"I know."

The old door of the cafe flew opened and Maura stepped out of it, an iced coffee in hand. She brightly smiled at her mother before focusing on Jane.

"Are you sure that you are fine? You just turned down a caffeine offer, Jane. I am getting worried. This isn't you..."

They resumed their walking through the main street of Thira. It wasn't that Jane wasn't in the mood for some coffee – that would never happen as long as she lived – but her heart was already beating so fast because of the intimidating situation caused by Constance's visit that she feared a dose of caffeine would send her straight to the ER. Greek coffee was a lot stronger than the American one, besides.

As much as she appreciated it, she also had to recognize that the dose she usually had in Boston had to be reduced here in Santorini.

They took the cable car to go down to the old harbor before going up again to have lunch. Constance was only staying in Santorini for the day. A private jet would wait for her at the airport at 7pm.

Of course she could have spent the night on the island but she knew that it was the last evening Jane and Maura would share in Santorini and she didn't want to sound intrusive. Yet she certainly didn't let them know and kept this piece of information for herself instead.

Ampelos was located near the old – main – church of Thira. As Jane followed Constance and Maura inside, she cast a glance at a little sign by the door and couldn't help smiling.

They were going to have lunch at a world renown restaurant. Of course she had never heard about it but something told her that the Isles were regular customers.

She turned out to be right.

After a warm greeting, Constance motioned a table and kept on conversing with the owner of the place. In Greek. She was fluent. Such detail was hardly surprising considering Maura's very own linguistic skills but Jane couldn't help feeling slightly jealous. She had learned a few words and sentences but she wasn't able to share a proper conversation in Greek either. One day, maybe.

She could take classes, after all.

They sat down at a table that overlooked the Caldera. In the shadows. The restaurant was quiet even if most of the tables were already taken. Constance had probably booked theirs as soon as she had planned her getaway on the archipelago.

"I'm going to miss this view big time. I mean..." Menu in hand, Jane focused on the Caldera and shook her head in disbelief. "It became my daily view. Boston's going to be so disappointing after that. How do you cope with it?"

Maura smiled at the question. At least now Jane was looking at her properly. She was finally relaxing a bit. The whole morning had been a game of hide and seek between the two of them.

Jane was nervous around her mother, Maura knew it.

"I don't. I don't cope with it! This is the reason why Santorini owns a special place in my heart and... And the reason why I have come back here so often. This view is magical."

"And romantic." Constance raised her glass of wine and winked at Jane and Maura with a barely contained discretion.

Jane swallowed hard. Her cheeks were burning and she knew that it wasn't caused by the alcohol as she hadn't had a sip yet. The sun could be excluded too since they were sitting in the shadows.

No. She was simply blushing because of the innuendo Constance had just shared. She hadn't expected this at all.

"Ha! Yeah, it... Ahem... It is." Jane ran a hand through her hair and focused back on the menu. She knew what she was going to order but at least pretending to read was a smart way to escape Constance's gaze on her. A classic subterfuge. "Any recommendation? Fish, meat...? Anyone?"

"I would definitely recommend our catch of the day. It will suit your wine and it is very light. Not that you need to watch out what you eat..."

Jane forced a smile at the waiter. She hadn't seen him arrive but he had obviously overheard her question since he had eagerly offered an answer. Yet to make sure that he wouldn't bother the table, he immediately left and went to welcome new customers.

"Someone isn't passing unnoticed, I see." Constance raised an amused eyebrow and unfolded her legs before picking up an olive. "The only person who should be hitting on you, Jane, is my daughter... Where are your manners, Maura? Pay attention to your significant other. Small wonder why you have been single for so long!"

Maura's usually fair complexion suddenly offered great competition to the most beautiful lobster one could find.

She wasn't red but scarlet. Literally scarlet.

"I am sure that Jane can actually choose for herself and that her question was pure rhetoric." The poor self-confidence in Maura's voice got reduced to ashes because of her shaking tone. She was trying hard though. "However, if you really are eager to get an opinion, I do recommend the catch of the day as well. Their fish is excellent."

Jane nodded and timidly smiled back at Maura.

Would it be like this in Boston? Would they look like two stupid teenagers unable to properly look at each other in presence of their friends and relatives? With their colleagues?

If so, they had just signed for some very difficult times to come and the first crime scene they would make it to together would become one unforgettable awkward moment.

"How long are you staying in Greece? Maura didn't tell me... I had no idea that you were around as well." Jane mentally applauded herself for pushing the conversation into another direction. It wasn't very subtle but at this point she coudn't care less. "And when did you arrive?"

"I am between two exhibitions... The next one is in Istanbul, that's why I have decided to stop by here for a little while before heading to Turkey. I was in Italy last week, in Florence. I like Greece a lot and I am actually pondering the idea of buying a little something here. Not in Santorini but maybe in Paros or Milos. I am not sure yet. Who doesn't need a _pied-à-terre_ in Greece?"

Jane wasn't certain that it was a need but she surely understood what Constance meant nonetheless. If she had had some money at the bank, she would have started looking closely at the real estate agencies of the area.

Maura had told her that real estate was very cheap because of the economic situation of the country. Perhaps she could come back to Boston with a Greek house key instead of a donkey.

"Of course you would be free to use this house whenever you want. Going away for a while with your loved one is really something every single couple should remember." Constance raised her glass anew. "We haven't shared a toast properly so... To you. To the two of you. May life be sweet with you."

And less stressful. Although Jane kept this thought for herself, of course.


	27. Our Last Night

**Author's note: Thank you very much for all your reviews and messages.**

**...**

_**"Maybe there's still a way to escape fate like, you know, tear down our flight tickets or something." Jane Rizzoli.**_

**Chapter Twenty-Seven – Our Last Night**

The breeze was hot and delicate. It slid on Maura's nape before going down her spine to make her shiver of delight.

A glass of Champagne in hand, she unfolded her legs and leaned her feet up on the edge of the hot tub before taking a sip. What was Jane doing? She had been waiting for her for at least ten good minutes now.

Good thing Maura had never been very fond of scary movies because the context she was currently in was actually the perfect scenery for some bloody serie B thing. She was alone – at night – in a hot tub. Apart from the candles all around her, the hotel was plunged in the dark and deadly quiet.

The busy street of Oia above her head was too far to be reached. If a wacko showed up and decided to slit her throat, nobody would hear nor see anything.

"Jane? Where are you?"

Her shaking tone of voice betrayed a latent panic nonetheless. She didn't feel particularly at ease. How could she? She was in her bikini, slightly intoxicated already by the alcoholic drink. This wasn't good. And no reply, besides.

She was about to talk again when an odd sound startled her. A hand on her heart, she snapped her head in the direction of the noise and rolled her eyes as she saw Jane walk towards her with an obvious hesitation.

"Can't you just answer when someone calls your name? You scared me! Why did it take you so long to put your bikini on?"

Maura didn't mean to be snappy but the context was such that her nerves had reached their limits. She had shamefully lost her patience and the truth was that Jane's silence didn't help her relax the slightest bit. On the contrary. What was going on?

"I had a wardrobe malfunction. Or better said, a bikini malfunction... Look at this." Jane grabbed the strap of her bikini and showed it to Maura. "I was hooking up the whole thing when this... When this lamely stayed in my hand. My bikini top is broken and if I don't hold it, I pretty much go topless."

Maura barely repressed a giggle.

She had imagined the worst because of Jane's face yet she hadn't taken in consideration the fact that her partner was so prudish even now that they had crossed the limits of their friendship.

"This is unfortunate as much as this is what happens when you buy a very cheap bikini, Jane, but... Let's face it: seeing you topless is not really an issue for me. I mean... It isn't novelty, you know."

Jane's snort resounded loudly; dramatically. She quickly stepped into the bathtub and tried to dig herself as deep as she could. She stopped the moment she got water up to her neck.

"You, maybe. But certainly not the hundred of tourists who can somehow see us from up there!" Jane motioned the cliff. "We can't see them but they can see you. I've checked. I mean... I wasn't glaring. I just wanted to check what we could see of the hotel from upstairs and we can see the hot tubs."

Maura frowned and cast a brief glance towards the street.

She hadn't really thought about all this. Yet now that she could understand Jane's slight reluctance, she didn't insist and poured her partner a glass of Champagne instead. Maybe Jane would relax a bit if she drank.

Their last night had finally come. After dropping out Constance at the airport and watching her private jet take off, they had headed back to Oia to pack their suitcases. Their flight was around noon on the very next day. This time, they could officially said that their vacations in Greece were coming to an end.

"You can let go of you bikini, Jane. The bubbling water is hiding your body." Jane's unconvinced face caused Maura to roll her eyes. "I can't lie!"

"Yeah... Whatever."

Yet Jane wasn't eager to hold a glass so close to her chest without moving that she wouldn't be able to enjoy the drink.

She folded her legs as high as she could and tried to make sure that the damaged piece of clothing wouldn't go away between her knees. She then took a well deserved sip of Champagne and let a moan of pleasure pass her lips.

This was all she needed. Or so.

With a brief motion of the head, she implicitly asked Maura to approach. Oddly enough, they hadn't booked the hot tub more than twice during their stay. These two weeks had gone too fast. Time had flown away. One more time.

"That last meal at Kostos' restaurant was nice."

They had decided to have a very last dinner at Maura's friend's place. It was the perfect occasion to say goodbye as well.

Michael had stopped by and the four of them had shared a drink, promising each other that the next time they would meet would be for the two men's wedding. In London. Of course Jane and Maura were invited.

Jane hadn't said anything but she somehow regretted that Kostos and Michael hadn't chosen to tie the knot in Santorini. She liked London but there was no Caldera out there, sadly.

"Many things happened here..." Maura's light laugh betrayed her sweet nervousness. She didn't want to write a report of their two weeks spent in the Cyclades but she couldn't pretend either that nothing had occurred. It was their last night so it was fair enough to come back on the unexpected turn of events that they had both lived. Without them, she and Jane wouldn't be together. "A part of me is happy to go back to Boston, to go back to work and to see Bass again but... I am going to miss Greece even more than I usually do."

"Maybe there's still a way to escape fate like, you know, tear down our flight tickets or something. I wouldn't mind staying here for an extra week and look at the BPD. They didn't call me during our stay here. That clearly says they don't need me any time soon!"

But the truth was that Jane was also happy to go back home. She was glad to see her mother, her relatives and her friends. And Jo Friday. She had missed Jo Friday.

"Did you have any expectation when we came here?"

Maura blinked. Why had she even asked such a thing?

Of course Jane being Jane, she couldn't sit on her lap and let mischievous touches carry the evening away since they were out in the open and tourists could somehow see them from above. Jane would never accept such a thing.

Yet that wasn't a reason either to start a heart-to-heart conversation.

"Ahem... What do you mean? I was just hoping for some sun and, you know, relaxing vacations." Jane frowned at her partner before deciding to hide herself behind her glass of champagne. "And you?"

Perhaps Maura had sent her some sort of signal that she should have understood right away. Sadly, her detective skills were currently reduced to an absolutely nothing. She was blank, completely blank.

"I was hoping that you would fall in love with Greece the way I felt in love with it the first time I came here. I was young and used to travel a lot but this country... I don't know. The moment I put a foot on its soil, I knew that it would always hold a special place in my heart. And now I have even more reasons to think so."

Maura would have never imagined that she and Jane would get closer but the symbol was such that the moment the words passed her lips, she felt her heart tigthen and tears make her vision blurry.

Did she really have to get emotional now? Couldn't she simply enjoy the moment, just like Jane?

Jane smiled - touched by the confession - and grabbed her partner's hand to hold it tightly. For five seconds only, though. Her position to make sure that her bikini wouldn't go was such that she could barely move.

"Don't take it badly though but if we ever have a child and this child turns out to be a girl, we won't call her Athena. I love Greece – I did fell in love with it – but I have my limits."

Of course Jane would use her sense of humor to face the intensity of Maura's reaction.

It was her very own way to protect herself from it because the truth was that she felt just as emotional as her partner now and she was not as good as Maura to deal with it.

"I can't believe that you didn't forget Mister Adverb."

Jane blinked. Had she heard well? What was Maura talking about, again?

"... ... What?"

Touched, Maura brought a hand to her heart and tilted her head before planting a warm kiss at the corner of Jane's lips.

"You didn't say 'bad' but 'badly' without me to remind you that you had to use an adverb here and not an adjective. I am proud of you, Jane. I love you."

Jane nodded slowly but remained quiet.

Was it what dating a nerd felt like? Yet Maura's words had somehow boosted her pride and she sat up in the hot tub. She lifted her chin up and was about to reply when she felt something slide between her chest and her knees.

Her bikini top.

The moment she had sat up, the broken piece of clothing had escaped from its precarious hold only to go float a bit further on the surface of the bubbling waters. Jane gasped and covered her bare chest with her arm immediately.

"Oh, shit!"


	28. Sycharitiria

_**"Because it has always made sense, so much sense." Maura Isles.**_

**Epilogue – Sycharitiria***

Since Jane had presents for her relatives – starting with her mother – and that Jo Friday was still at Maura's place, she postponed a drive back to her own apartment and followed her partner instead to Beacon Hill.

Their flight had landed on time at Logan International. Angela had warned them that she was working and that nobody was actually available to pick them up so they had naturally decided to get a taxi instead.

It was a sunny day of May but the blue of the sky didn't match the blue of the Caldera. Everything looked darker, heavier. Her forehead leaned against the window of the taxi, Jane realized that it would be very hard to start her Bostonian life again. She wasn't ready for it.

Yet she didn't have much of a choice. Within two days, she would resume her work at the BPD.

As if nothing happened.

The taxi stopped in front of Maura's townhouse. Back to life. They paid the driver – retrieved their suitcases in the trunk – then walked to the door. Since they had been upgraded for their second flight - from Paris to Boston - they had been able to sleep a bit so they weren't too tired. Just in need of a shower, maybe.

They stepped in the lobby and dropped their bags by the door. It was strange to be back to a familiar place but under completely different circumstances. The last time they had been in this house, Jane and Maura were still friends and nothing else. Just friends. Now they were lovers; more or less secret ones.

"Jo?" Jane waited for the dog to start trotting towards her happily but nothing happened. Had her mother left her in the patio? Jane had been absent for two weeks. Jo Friday should have been ecstatic to see her back to Boston. Obviously the dog's absence indicated that the house was empty. "Where is she...?"

Maura shrugged and looked at the floor of the lobby. If only Bass could have a dog reaction at times. She wished nothing but him to walk towards her whenever she came back home. Sadly it rarely happened.

She was accustomed to the idea of going away for a week or so because of her work and at no moment had the tortoise been particularly thrilled to see her back at some point.

"I know it isn't a hot tub and the view doesn't equal the Caldera but how about we go and share a bath? You know..." Suddenly rather seductive, Maura turned around and walked to Jane. She let a finger slide along her lover's shirt until it reached the hem of the piece of clothing and she started playing with it. "Maybe we should just enjoy these last hours of freedom that we have before we get to see anyone..."

Maura's suggestion was anything but subtle. Jane couldn't help laughing. She passed her arms around her partner's neck to pull her closer to her body and tilted her head.

"Hmm... Tempting..."

She let Maura do. She let her push her a bit further in the living-room until the back of her legs hit Maura's desk and they began to give more intensity to the kiss that had been initiated in the lobby.

Maura's hand had just reached the button of Jane's jeans when a foreign sound made them freeze. Someone had just cleared his or her throat. Suddenly conscious that they weren't completely alone, Jane and Maura snapped their heads towards the noise in question and held their breath the moment they saw the dozen of people in the kitchen.

"... ... Surprise ... ...?"

A bit embarrassed, Angela nonetheless waved the little Greek flag that she was holding before the rest of the guests – Frankie, Tommy, Lydia and Jane and Maura's colleagues – did the same. Mortified, Jane still managed to look up above their heads. A 'welcome back' banner had been hung from one side of the kitchen to the other while American and Greek flags littered the counter along with some cakes and a salad bowl full of what looked like a giant Mojito.

Maura swallowed hard. So much for asking Jane to keep a low profile for a while.

...

_Two Years Later_

"Hey, Frost! Slow down on the Ouzo. This stuff is kinda sweet but it's still quite strong. Trust me."

Jane winked at her colleague before grabbing her own glass to bring a toast with him. He was sitting three seats away from her but the relative distance was not an issue. Frost nodded and raised his glass as well. They both gulped down their respective shot and burst out laughing.

"I refuse to carry you back home, Jane, so please... Slow down on the amount of alcohol that you are having. There are stairs to climb after this."

Jane rolled her eyes at Maura but didn't insist. After all, Maura was right. She had to admit it. This day was special for them and she didn't want to ruin it because she would have drunk a bit too much. It was ridiculous and she would have felt guilty for the rest of her life.

"_Sycharitiria_*..." Oula appeared from nowhere in Jane's back – startling her slightly – and put her hands on her bare and tanned shoulders. "I knew the moment we met for the first time that you'd come back to Santorini. And more than once. Yet I hadn't imagined that you would choose Oia to celebrate your wedding. I am beyond happy."

Jane and Maura turned around to properly look at the young woman. They were both grinning, the shade of the sun that had reddened their cheeks now lighting up their eyes delightfully.

"It couldn't go any other way. Everything started here." Maura grabbed Jane's hand to hold it tightly and bit her lower lip. "You, Manuela... All of this is thanks to you, to everyone. Who knows where we would be now if Jane and I had not come to Santorini two years ago. All the things we would have missed... Our whole life, actually! I do not like thinking about it because... Because our couple is an evidence. Because it has always made sense, so much sense."

Alright. Perhaps she had drunk a bit too much herself. Then it would explain the latent lyricism of her speech but she had just got married to Jane. If there was an emotional day in Maura's life then it had to be the one she was living now. For once, she didn't have to feel guilty to be on the verge of crying.

Two years had passed by. Already. And so many things had happened since they had won this trip to Santorini.

Michael and Kostos were now the parents of a beautiful little girl named Lilah and were happily married for a year and a half. As for Jane and Maura...

They had moved in together within a month after their return to Boston. Anyway, the context was such that they hadn't been able to keep a low profile so they had decided instead to embrace their relationship fully.

They had not planned it but since everyone who had a minimum of importance into their life had somehow walked in on them the day of the secret party in Maura's kitchen, they had had to adapt to the unexpected situation.

By the end of the first year, they had bought a little house in Oia. It was small but traditional and quiet; exactly what they had been dreaming about for at least six months. And then one day, Maura had come back home from work with a platinum engagement ring and had proposed to Jane.

They hadn't talked about marriage. As a matter of fact, apart from their house in the Cyclades they barely alluded to the future. They had found the perfect balance in the idea of letting life carry them through its path and it had worked out so far. It really had had. But how could Jane say no to Maura's proposal? It wouldn't have made sense at all.

They had got a civil wedding in Boston and had immediately decided to organize a more personal ceremony in Greece. After all, it was where everything had started. The symbol was strong and very sweet.

With the help of Oula, Manuela, Kostos and Michael, they had managed to organize exactly the same kind of wedding that they had attended during their first visit on the archipelago. Oula's cousin wedding. Nobody knew that it was the evening when everything had started for them but it made so much sense to recreate it and make it theirs.

With everyone.

Their relatives, friends and close colleagues had immediately accepted to come to Greece to celebrate the wedding and within a few months, everything had been ready.

And there they were, now. Back on this small square of Oia. By a warm summer night. Tourists stopped by from time to time, intrigued. A local band was playing traditional music. Jane had even managed to convince Maura to serve chicken gyro along with other Greek dishes.

A Greek wedding. _Their_ Greek wedding.

"So since you got married in Heaven, I'm gonna assume that there won't be any honeymoon, right? I mean, how could you get a more romantic setting than Santorini?"

Korsak's question made them smile. They had preferred one single long table to several small ones. Since it was a small wedding in spite of all, they found it a lot more friendly. Maura slightly leaned over the table to look at him and nodded.

"We are going to the Sporades; Northern Greek islands... Although we haven't settled on a date yet."

But it was just fine. They had all the time in the world to think about that. For the moment, all they wanted to do was to focus on the sweetness of the evening and the delicate sensation to have made the right choice when getting married.

Who knew what the future held in store for them?

But together, they were certain that it couldn't but be the best. Only the best.

The End

...

Sycharitiria: Congratulations

**Author's note: Thank you everyone for all the messages and reviews you posted during this story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**"To Life" will be the next fic but it won't start before June, 12th or something because I am about to work for 20 days in a row without a day off for the French Open of tennis and I will have a schedule that won't allow me to post daily updates as I like to do. **

**So I prefer to wait and make sure I am available again before posting it. However and since I still have a few days left before the French Open, I may post a few one shots in the meantime (starting on Tuesday or Wednesday). **


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